Visions of Hope
by rubygurl
Summary: yes...finally updated..LAST CHAPTER!!!
1. Mall Experiences

"Hey Tomoyo-chan, wait!" Tomoyo heard a voice yell to her. She whirled around and smacked into her best friend Kinomoto Sakura. Tomoyo, ever graceful, managed to keep her balance, while Sakura tumbled backwards. Her legs flipped out from under her and her brown hair flew up as she fell.  
  
"Oh no!" Tomoyo exclaimed. "Sakura-chan, are you alright?" She bent down to help her up.  
  
"Hoe, thank you I'm fine," Sakura answered. "And guess what!" Tomoyo sighed as Sakura rambled on. "Michael-kun is single! He and Shinwa-san are no longer a couple."  
  
"Is that all?" Tomoyo asked Sakura.  
  
"What do you mean is that all?" Sakura asked her in stonishment. "Michael-kun is the best-looking guy that I know of. He's so hot and cute!"  
  
"Oh look, there he is!" Tomoyo said as she pointed across the sports field. Sakura gasped as she saw him. Six different girls were mobbing him, but his funky brown hair gave it all away. Sakura shivered slightly as Michael suddenly looked up in their direction. He flashed them a quick smile.  
  
"C'mon Sakura, let's go before they kill us," Tomoyo said as she pulled Sakura away. The girls were already throwing murder glares in Sakura's direction. They started to walk home. It was a beautiful day. Spring had just come and everything was blooming. The weather was perfect for walking home.  
  
There was a light breeze that blew across both of their faces. Sakura and Tomoyo both breathed in the fresh air. Cherry blossoms slowly fluttered down onto their faces and Tomoyo sighed blissfully.  
  
"Tomoyo-chan, Tomoyo-chan?" Tomoyo heard Sakura speaking.  
  
"Huh?" Tomoyo asked jolted out of her thoughts. "Tomoyo-chan, are you listening to me?"  
  
"Yes, of course I am," Tomoyo replied sweat-dropping under the piercing gaze of Sakura's emerald green eyes.  
  
"Good. Here's what I'm thinking. If you, I and Leisa are the only popular girls at our school,"  
  
"Well, we aren't' really that pop." Sakura wasn't paying attention to Tomoyo at all. Tomoyo sighed AGAIN.  
  
"Well, Michael-kun is bound to notice me. So maybe he'll ask me to go to the Homecoming Dance with me." Sakura had a dreamy look on her face. Tomoyo shook her head in exasperation. Then she brightened.  
  
"Great! A chance to videotape you in a new costume!" she said brightly. Sakura sweat-dropped.  
  
"Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura wailed fingering her braided hair nervously.  
  
"Well, Sakura-chan, are you going to come to the mall with Syaoran-kun, Eriol-kun, and me?" Tomoyo asked her.  
  
Eriol had returned to Japan for a short visit. He had told Tomoyo and Sakura that he had felt a new force arising. He had come back to help. Yue had woken up too. Syaoran had returned to Japan three months ago. He said that he had finished his training at top speed. Of course, Tomoyo knew that he had run away. Meilin had called her.  
  
~ Flashback ~  
  
"Tomoyo-chan! Konnichi wa!" Tomoyo heard a very piercing voice on the phone. Then, "Syaoran-kun has run away to Japan," Meilin wailed.  
  
"What!?" Tomoyo asked surprised. "He said that he had finished his training and that your aunt had let him come back." "Yes, he finished his training, and at top-speed may I add, but he isn't supposed to go anywhere without the consent of the Elders. And they had specifically told him to stay in Hong Kong. And not to go to Japan especially! I think that he's really in love with Sakura-chan. He was very, quiet back here. He barely ever spoke to anyone. Even me. I think that I was the only one that he ever spoke to, he never spoke to his sisters at all, and only occasionally to his mother and the Elders. Watch him in Japan, will you? I might come back too."  
  
"Sure. But why didn't you call Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked Meilin.  
  
"Because Sakura-chan is the reason that I think Syaoran came back. She still doesn't realize that he loves her, does she? And besides, she's too think-headed," Meilin stated to Tomoyo.  
  
"I think that she gave up on Syaoran-kun a while ago. After he left for Hong Kong, Sakura was very closed to everyone too. Well, actually she didn't seem at all sad. She was actually very happy and she went on with life as usual. But I am her best friend, so I notice everything. And Sakura- chan was very distressed. She had just gotten better when Syaoran-kun moved back suddenly. I'm not really sure now." "OK." Meilin said. "Keep an eye out for Syaoran," She reminded Tomoyo. "Of course," Tomoyo said. She hung up.  
  
~ End Flashback ~  
  
That had been about two months ago. And now Tomoyo wondered about Syaoran and Sakura. Sakura had not said anything to Tomoyo yet at all about Syaoran at all.  
  
"Of course I'm going to the mall. You had better come to pick me up though, I don't think that it was a good idea to sneak out of the house just so Syaoran could pick me up. I still have the rip in my dress where I fell," Sakura replied to Tomoyo's long ago asked question. "And onii-chan still saw us."  
  
"Well it wasn't a very good idea to wear a dress in the first place, even though it had looked good on you," Tomoyo remarked to Sakura giggling. Sakura had worn a sky blue dress that night. But when she climbed down the tree to get out to where Syaoran was, she ripped her dress. And she couldn't go back inside because Touya would see her, so she had to borrow a set from Tomoyo. Tomoyo was always prepared with everything.  
  
"Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura wailed to her. "OK, I'll ask Chen to pick you up on our way to the mall tonight," Tomoyo told Sakura.  
  
"Arigato!" Sakura said to Tomoyo.  
  
"See you tonight!" Tomoyo shouted as they parted. As Tomoyo walked home, she suddenly spotted Eriol. She hasn't expected to see Eriol, and tried to avoid him. But it was too late, as he had already spotted her.  
  
"Tomoyo-chan!" he waved to her. "How are you?"  
  
"Eriol-kun. Oh ho ho. Fine. How are you?" She asked him politely.  
  
"Fine. Are you going to the mall tonight?" He questioned. She nodded.  
  
"Of course. And Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun are going too."  
  
"Oh." Eriol said in his mysterious way.  
  
"Eriol-kun," Tomoyo started, but then stopped. "Yeah?" He asked curiously. "It's about Sakura-chan and Syaoran, isn't it?"  
  
Tomoyo nodded in astonishment. "I'm worried about her and Syaoran kun."  
  
Eriol led her down to a seat in the park and Tomoyo continued talking. "Michael-kun is single and Sakura-chan is after him again. I feel really sorry for Syaoran-kun now. She has absolutely no idea that Syaoran-kun still likes her. Of course he doesn't help by being so elusive about it, and so rude!"  
  
"Yeah. I don't know why he is so mean. I know that he still loves her, but he is very subtle about it," Eriol mused. "Hey, let's push them together," He said excitedly. "OK. This will prove that they really belong together."  
  
"Of course it will. Let's start tonight at the mall," Eriol said. "So I'll see you tonight then," Tomoyo said keeping her eyes downcast as she said bye to Eriol. She ran down the street towards her house in the background rising over the sunset.  
  
"Yeah. See you tonight," Eriol echoed her quietly as he watched her running down the street. Then he turned around and disappeared.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Sakura arrived at home out of breath from running. "Onii-chan, I'm home!" She yelled to Touya her brother.  
  
"Kaijou!" Her brother peered at her from around the corner of the living room. "Are you going to the mall again tonight?" He asked her.  
  
"Yes," Sakura said sweat-dropping as she remembered last week's episode.  
  
"Is the Brat picking you up?"  
  
"Of course not!" Sakura said trying to be indignant. "Where did you ever get that idea? Tomoyo-chan was very nice and offered me a ride." Sakura marched upstairs to her room without another word. Touya stood there looking after her with a flabbergasted expression on his face.  
  
Whoa Sakura is in a bad mood today. He knew that she had matured though, and even though many other people might not. She had grown up to be a very responsible lady, though just as clumsy, He turned around and returned to the table where he was eating.  
  
"Kero-chan, what am I going to wear to the mall tonight?" Sakura wailed to him as she flopped onto her bed. She stared at the ceiling thinking.  
  
"How would I know?" Kero-chan asked her as he concentrated on his video game. "I have absolutely no sense of fashion. I. Oh baka! See, Sakura- chan, you just made me lose!" Sakura sweat-dropped.  
  
"Hoe, Kero-chan, I was just curious." "Why do you have to dress up anyway?" Kero asked as he started up another game.  
  
"Anyone special you want to dress up for?" He asked slyly.  
  
"Of course not! Well, I'm not really sure," Sakura was having trouble describing about how she felt about her life. She was sort of in love with Michael, but she was confused about Syaoran.  
  
"Is it that Chinese Brat?" Kero asked Sakura.  
  
"How did you know?" Sakura asked surprised. "NO! Of course it isn't Syaoran- kun."  
  
"Ah, I noticed that you called him by his fist name." Kero said slyly. Sakura strangled him.  
  
After they had both calmed down...  
  
"Well, I figured this would happen. I sort of had a premonition. I'm not really sure how it will turn out because my premonitions can change. I really shouldn't have told you. It could mess up all of your future and destiny."  
  
"It's ok. I won't tell anyone or do anything. But I don't really know if I'm in love with him," Sakura said.  
  
"I know you are. Don't tell me you don't get all starry-eyed when you see him," Kero said pushing Sakura. She sighed. She still remembered that one- day at the airport before he had left.  
  
"We'll see each other again, right?" Sakura had asked him quietly as he had left to board the plane. Now that he was back, he just ignored her. She wondered why he was being so distant to her lately. She wanted him as a friend, and he had been completely ignoring her. This really annoyed and upset her.  
  
And all he basically ever said to her if she talked him first, and all he said was 'no', 'yes', or 'don't do that! It's wrong." "Why are you so clumsy?"  
  
Sakura finished her homework at a surprising rate for her. At around 6:30, she went downstairs to eat dinner before Tomoyo arrived to pick her up to go to the mall.  
  
"Working on homework?" Fujitaka asked Sakura cheerfully as she sat down.  
  
"Yup. I'm all done now," She answered. Touya raised his eyebrows. It wasn't like his little sister to finish homework at all. Well she has grown up. He thought. Maybe she's changed more than I expected. After all, Sakura's a really special person. Besides the fact that she is my little sister. Just then, the doorbell rang.  
  
"Hoe! Tomoyo-chan's already here!" Sakura yelled as she stuffed a sausage into her mouth. Touya went to answer the door to make sure that it wasn't the Brat picking up Sakura. Sakura ran upstairs to grab her stuff.  
  
"Tomoyo-chan, hello," Sakura greeted her as she came downstairs.  
  
"Sakura-chan, and how are you Kinomoto-san?" Tomoyo asked him graciously.  
  
"Oh, fine," Touya answered her. "I'm ready Tomoyo-chan." Sakura waved to Eriol-kun, who was sitting in the front seat. "Is Syaoran-kun coming tonight?" Sakura asked innocently.  
  
"Of course he is," Eriol said. He smiled with a trace of evil on his lips. Tomoyo noticed it and giggled. ~ Flashback ~  
  
"Syaoran-kun, you really, really, really need to go tonight," Eriol said trying to convince him.  
  
"And why should I?" Syaoran asked repeatedly.  
  
"Why don't you want to go?" Eriol asked, trying a different tact. "I just don't."  
  
"I'll tell Sakura-chan that you are in love with her," Eriol said wickedly.  
  
"What?!" Syaoran laughed weakly. "You wouldn't dare Eriol-kun. And I don't like Sakura-chan. Where'd you come up with that idea? It's so stupid."  
  
"Just try and not come," Eriol enforced his threat. He grinned evilly on his side of the phone line. Syaoran was being way too defensive about Sakura.  
  
"You'd better not tell anyone about that stupid rumor. Oh alright, I'll come. I have to go shopping at Ikasan tonight anyway," Syaoran said submissively.  
  
"Good. See you tonight then. Oh, and you also have to be on time. You can't come at the last minute." Eriol heard a groan at the other end. Ha! He thought. "Bye."  
  
"Bye." Syaoran said.  
  
~ End Flashback ~  
  
As they arrived at the mall, Eriol, Tomoyo, and Sakura met up with Syaoran at their favorite restaurant, the "Global Café." This restaurant served basically anything from around the world. All types of people hung out here. This was also a great place to hangout after school. There were a ton of kids from their school at the restaurant, and many people said hi to Sakura's group before they were seated down at a table. After they had slid in to their seats at their table, they ordered. Then they started talking about school. Sakura immediately lapsed into a huge discussion about Michael. A dreamy look appeared on her face.  
  
"He's so handsome and sweet," She said fantasizing. Tomoyo looked at Eriol horrified. This was not going to their plan at all. He smoothly changed the subject.  
  
"Hey what do you guys think about the new girl from Taiwan, Huang Leisa?"  
  
"She's really pretty," Syaoran stated. Without knowing why, Sakura felt a stab of pain in her heart. She brushed it off.  
  
"I haven't really met her yet. But I don't think that you should judge people on looks. She looks really mean to me," She said out loud. Then she blushed as she realized what she had just said. She turned her head away as Syaoran gave her an amused smile. Tomoyo and Eriol grinned at each other.  
  
"Yeah, I haven't met her either," Tomoyo said. Their food came, and they quickly finished it off.  
  
"Well, you guys, can we go do some shopping, and then meet back here in about, let's say, an hour?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Sure," Eriol said. "Where are you going?"  
  
"I have to go to Ikasan to get something for Michael-kun's birthday. It's coming up really soon, on November 22."  
  
"I have to go to Ikasan too!" Syaoran exclaimed. "Cool, then you two can go together, and Tomoyo-chan and I can go somewhere too," Eriol decided.  
  
"NO!" Sakura and Syaoran both exclaimed loudly standing up suddenly. "I can't go shopping with him/her." The entire restaurant turned and looked over at Syaoran and Sakura. They both felt their faces growing hot. They quietly sat down, glaring at each other. Tomoyo and Eriol exchanged glances.  
  
"Well, that's OK, we can find someone else to go with each of you," Eriol said. "Hey, isn't that Leisa-chan, Syaoran-kun. Maybe you would like to go with her." Eriol nudged Sakura hard. Huang Leisa was the new girl from Taiwan. She was always drooling over Syaoran. She proved to be a very hard competitor with Syaoran for Sakura. She had even punched Sakura once because Syaoran said that he was better friends with her than Leisa.  
  
"Oww!" Sakura exclaimed loudly. Eriol shook his head. Sakura was so dense sometimes.  
  
"Yeah, look, it's Michael-kun Sakura! He'd probably love to go with you," Tomoyo exclaimed to Syaoran more than Sakura. At that exact moment, Michael flashed a smile at Sakura as his blue eyes met her emerald ones. She practically melted on the floor. (The only thing that was wrong with that was that Sakura was shopping for Michael's present.)  
  
Oh no! Syaoran thought. I'm not sure if I really want to go with her, but I'm definitely not letting her go with Michael-kun! He defiantly said. "No, I can go with Sakura. It's just that I didn't think that. well she can go with me. If she wants to," he added.  
  
"If I want to!" Sakura said outraged and hurt by Syaoran's statement. "I can go by myself. I would've gone anyway."  
  
"Whatever you want," Syaoran said casually. He really didn't want to help her to look for a present for Michael though. He was angry for some reason about the fact that she was looking for a present for Michael. He didn't know why though. Sakura fumed inside.  
  
"OK then, let's go." They both got up and left for Ikasan. Eriol and Tomoyo grinned at each other.  
  
Neither Sakura nor Syaoran noticed Eriol and Tomoyo following them, and no one noticed a shadowy figure trailing all four of them. Ikasan was not overcrowded with people like it usually was. That was a relief. It got so crowded sometimes that you couldn't even see where you were going, or what you were buying.  
  
"So what are you buying?" Sakura asked Syaoran trying to start a conversation.  
  
"I don't know," he muttered gruffly to her.  
  
"OK. Are you looking for pants, shirts, what.?"  
  
"Some pants and some shirts I guess," Syaoran answered as he pulled a shirt off a rack.  
  
"Those would look absolutely horrible on you! OK. Here, I'll help you pick out some clothes," Sakura exclaimed. Then she bit her lip and she could feel her face turning red. "I'm sorry," she said looking down.  
  
"For what?" Syaoran said, tilting her head up with his hand so that his serious amber eyes stared into her glistening emerald ones. Sakura felt a chill go up her spine. His eyes penetrated deep into her soul. They were sad and wistful. Sakura wondered why.  
  
"Oh, I'm just bothering you. I know I am just a pest to you. I'll go look for Michael-kun's present now," She said in a rush as she backed away from Syaoran.  
  
"No, it's OK." Syaoran said. Wait a minute what am I saying? "You can help me. I have a pretty bad sense of style anyway."  
  
"Cool!" Sakura said. Tomoyo winked at Eriol over her Sony V8 that had been watching Syaoran and Sakura's every move. "Improvement!" She said quietly into her V8. Sakura browsed through some clothes, then picked a few. She threw them onto Syaoran, and pushed him into a changing room.  
  
"Try these on," she told him. "OK." He said submissively. When he came out, Sakura gasped. He looked really handsome, even more than Michael did. She noticed some other girls eyeing him. That one shirt really brought out his muscles, so she pushed him back in the room.  
  
"Change back now, I've got your clothes," Sakura grabbed fresh ones off the rack and purchased them.  
  
"OK." Syaoran came back out looking normal again with his messy hair. "I can help you to look for a present for Michael-kun if you want me too."  
  
"Really! Arigato Syaoran-kun." "Yeah, whatever," Syaoran said as he suddenly noticed a picture that had appeared on the floor in the aisle next to them. He bent down to pick it up. Sakura had already moved on. It showed two young teenagers together. The boy had amber eyes and brown hair, while the girl had sorrowful green eyes and golden brown hair. He was headed away from her, with eyes that looked like they wanted to do anything but that. She was reaching out for him and they both had tears in their eyes.  
  
Syaoran, don't leave me! No! We don't belong together. He told her coldly. I never cared about you anyway.  
  
Sakura looked at him with glistening tears. Then why did you say that you loved me? I love you. I loved you so deeply that it hurt.  
  
Syaoran stared back at her forcing a lack of feeling into his eyes. He glared at her coldly, without any words or emotions.  
  
I never ever cared about you. Good bye. He walked away, forcing his tears back, keeping his indifferent air up, though his heart was shattering into a million pieces.  
  
Syaoran! Sakura screamed, as she saw him disappear into the darkness, then she collapsed onto the ground, sobbing.  
  
  
  
Ruby- OK. So this is my first chapter of my story. So, what do you think? How are the evil guys? Oh yeah, you don't meet them in this chapter. Next chapter for sure. And they aren't that evil because I really hate to portray evil people. I mean, I just get into my stories a bit too much sometimes and I hate killing my characters off. ( *grins and winks* One thing, please don't bombard me with impatient emails. I don't get on that often. It all depends on when I'll have enough time to write too. Send all questions, comments, and anything to rowzezqueen@yahoo.com. Thanks! 


	2. The Harmony of Anger

Disclaimer: Yeah, blah blah, I don't own CCS.all that bunch of stuff. Chapter 2- The Harmony of Anger  
  
Where did this come from? Syaoran asked himself. The two people in the picture looked too familiar to him. He would never leave Sakura's side, even if she did reject him. He had sworn to be her protector, and would keep her safe forever.  
  
"Syaoran, Syaoran-kun?" Sakura was asking in her gentle voice.  
  
"Huh?" he looked up. "Oh. Yeah?"  
  
"What do you think I should get Michael-kun?" Sakura asked him expectantly.  
  
"I don't know. Maybe he would want. I don't know." Sakura looked crestfallen.  
  
"But, now I don't know what to get him for his birthday. What do you want for your birthday? Syaoran looked around.  
  
"I don't know, it's not coming up anytime soon, just my friends, I guess."  
  
"So, are we still friends?" Sakura asked softly Syaoran was caught off guard. He remembered how much they had experienced together, but he didn't know how to answer her.  
  
"Oh, Meilin is coming back next month!" Syaoran suddenly informed Sakura. Her eyes widened.  
  
"Really!" He never answered my question though. She thought dejectedly. I guess he doesn't count me as his friend and just won't tell me to my face.  
  
She had really missed Meilin, even thought she had been her rival with Syaoran, but Sakura was pretty sure that she was over him by now. Meilin could have Syaoran all that she wanted when she got here. She looked at Syaoran again. He was looking away deep in thought.  
  
"Syaoran?" She asked him.  
  
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Mother decided that I couldn't stay here all by myself. So she decided to send Meilin, after a bit of arguing of course." Syaoran smiled as he remembered their conversation.  
  
~ Flashback ~  
  
"Syaoran, a little teenager like you should not live by himself in a foreign country," his mother had admonished. "And besides, you're lucky that the Elders actually agreed to this idea. They are all still mad about the fact that you ran away. If I hadn't convinced them with your cousin Li Meilin, you might have had to come home right now. The Elders stop at nothing to get what they want anyway. But we told them that you needed to finish your education with better teachers there. Even though that's not the reason you're there anyway. But you need to let me send someone over to be with you."  
  
"Mother, I'm fine here. Really," Syaoran said pleadingly. Li Ieran had ignored him.  
  
Syaoran had sighed. Japan was not foreign to him. That was why he had not told anyone when he left Hong Kong. He knew Meilin and anyone else he told the reason to would immediately tell the Elders. Besides maybe Meilin. And he was old enough to take care of himself. He was sixteen. Old enough to work and drop out of high school, if he wished. Plus, being at home brought back too many old memories, good ones, and also bad ones. He wanted to escape from them.  
  
"I'll send Wei over immediately," his mother continued as if she had not heard anything that Syaoran had said.  
  
"No, Mother, really. You don't need to send Wei. And I am not a little teenager!" Syaoran had tried to convince his mother, but when you had just ran away from home, and your mother is the head of a clan, and you are the only Chosen one that everyone wants, it's isn't easy to convince your mother.  
  
In the end, Syaoran had convinced his mother to just send over Meilin. She had already been here, and she was Syaoran's closest relative. She and Syaoran had been together since they had been little kids. She wouldn't harass him like other servants that his mother would send. Wei actually wasn't that bad, but Syaoran preferred someone closer to his age like Meilin.  
  
~ End Flashback ~  
  
"Syaoran-kun, Syaoran-kun? Are you there?"  
  
"Huh?" Syaoran woke up again. "This is the second time that you've done this to me. Are you alright?" Sakura asked him concerned.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. It's none of your business anyway, " he replied coldly to her.  
  
"OK," Sakura turned away, hurt by his coolness. Syaoran immediately regretted that.  
  
He wanted to reach out to her, pull her close to him, and say that he was sorry. He wanted to stroke her shiny brown hair. He wanted to breathe in her special cherry blossom scent. He wanted everything to be alright. He wanted to.  
  
"So what should I get him?" Sakura had turned around again looking fine.  
  
"Umm. Get him some cologne."  
  
"Cologne?" That sounded very senseless to Sakura. "Cologne?"  
  
OK, bad idea. Syaoran thought to himself.  
  
"OK, let's see. What is Michael- kun interested in?"  
  
"Sports, I guess." Sakura said slowly.  
  
"OK, so what in here is he going to want?" Syaoran asked her.  
  
"Umm, he likes baseball and soccer, so I know! A new visor!" Sakura said as she spotted a really cute one. It had a bunny on it and was really umm, cute.  
  
"Eh," Syaoran sweat dropped. "Sakura-chan, think about who you're buying the present for. I don't think that Michael-kun is going to want that." Sakura turned her anger out on him.  
  
"And what would you know about him? You two aren't even friends? What if he does want it?" She knew she sounded stupid and that Michael wouldn't want it, but she needed something to direct anger at. She was really angry for some reason.  
  
"Geez. Sakura, are you alright?" Syaoran asked concerned. He felt a force nearby, but he didn't know what it was.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine!" Sakura shouted. "Just leave me alone!" "Sakura?" Syaoran said slowly.  
  
OK, I know that she can be really crazy, but this is way out of control! He grabbed her hand and dragged her forcefully out of the store.  
  
"Hey, let go of me!" Sakura protested.  
  
A passing mall guard gave Syaoran a weird look and was about to go after them when Syaoran motioned to Sakura and said, "She's my sister. I didn't buy her a dress."  
  
The guard nodded sympathetically. "I wish you luck," he said as he walked off to continue his patrol.  
  
"Sakura-chan!" Syaoran yelled at her as they got outside. She turned fiery eyes on him. "  
  
What is your problem?" She shouted as she continued to struggle against Syaoran's steel grip. "Get away from me?"  
  
Syaoran sighed as he swiftly gave her a swift pinch on the neck. He touched a nerve, and Sakura slumped down, unconscious. He drew out her cards.  
  
"OK, I hope that I can actually use these," he muttered to himself. Shouting out some Chinese words, he threw the Fly card up. WHOOSH! Wings shot out on his back. Quickly, he flew to Sakura's house. He hovered over her window and slowly pushed it open. He had dragged Sakura all the way over here, and he deposited her on the bed gently.  
  
I'm so stupid! How could I not sense a force nearby? Now it's in Sakura, and I have no idea how to get it out. I was way too occupied. Stupid, stupid, stupid! He yelled at himself.  
  
Kero flew out suddenly, attacking Syaoran. "Thief, robber, what are you doing here?"  
  
"Yo, you little stuffed animal, get off me!" Syaoran cried out as he struggled with Kero.  
  
"Oh ho ho." Kero said as he stopped, impersonating copyrighted Tomoyo's greeting. "What are you doing here?" he stepped back, studying Syaoran. Wow, the little kid had grown. He was even what could be considered handsome, of course only according to human terms.  
  
"I felt a force out here, and then Sakura started going crazy, so I knocked her out and brought her here."  
  
"Yeah, I though I felt something out there. I wasn't too sure though. Uh oh, this means that we have new troubles coming out here," Kero mumbled softly to himself, but Syaoran heard him.  
  
"So is this a new card?" he asked Kero. "There is one last card out in the Clow Cards deck," he announced to Syaoran. "Which is also the beginning of the other one," Kero said to himself. "Alright, to capture it, you obviously need Sakura, who is unconscious right now, thanks a lot to you." Kero scowled at Syaoran.  
  
"Hey, I had to." "Yeah, yeah. So tell me what happened."  
  
"Well, we were at the mall, and then all of a sudden, she started to get really mad at me for some reason. I don't know if I really did do something to make her mad, but anyways. I dragged her out of the mall, and then came here. Oh yeah, I need to call Tomoyo-chan." Syaoran quickly pulled out his cell and dialed Tomoyo's cell number. He explained everything, and she promised to come to Sakura's house right away with Eriol.  
  
"Alright," Syaoran said as he hung up.  
  
"We're lucky that no one's home right now, or else Sakura-chan's 'nii-chan would kill us, or more, you," Kero said pointing right at Syaoran.  
  
"Hey, I never knew that Sakura played the flute," Syaoran said as he noticed a flute case near the closet with a stand.  
  
"Oh." Kero's voice grew silent. "Sakura-chan found it in the basement a month ago. It was her mother's and now she's trying to learn how to play it. She's become pretty good at it."  
  
"My mother made me learn how to play the flute with my sisters. It was pure torture, but it might come in handy someday. Let me see if I can still play it." Syaoran slowly took out the three pieces and put them together. He blew slightly on the flute and did a quick scale to warm up.  
  
Then he jumped right into a piece. The lovely melody floated throughout the house. Even Kero was touched. The lovely melody floated on the air towards Sakura. She was falling quickly towards a fire pit. The fire and heat grew higher and hotter as she approached.  
  
NONONONO! She screamed in her head as she tried to move away. SYAORAN! The music advanced, pushing the fire back, and reassuring Sakura with its lovely melody.  
  
Come this way. The music beckoned. Come with us. This is the right way. Slowly, Sakura flew upwards as she resisted the pull downwards towards the pit. Sakura woke up and slowly opened her eyes. "Hoe?" She said out loud. Her anger diminished, and Kero caught her hand.  
  
"Hurry up Sakura! Capture it!" The Anger pixie floated out with an unreadable expression on her face. Sakura sat up quickly.  
  
"Spirit of the dark forces. Return to your shape of contract! I, Sakura command you. Sakura Card!" Sakura shouted out loud. The pixie struggled as she was drawn slowly into her card.  
  
"Anger?" Sakura said in wonder as the card landed gently on her outstretched hand. Clapping was heard from the door of her room and Sakura turned around.  
  
"Wow, Sakura-chan was awesome again!" Tomoyo said as she turned her camera off. "Too bad she wasn't in a costume."  
  
"Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura whined. Then she noticed Syaoran had her flute out.  
  
"What are you doing with my flute?" She asked him. Syaoran blushed.  
  
"Umm, just practicing. I'm much better with the violin," he said quickly as he put the flute back in its case in a fluid movement.  
  
"Hai! Spirit of the dark forces, come out! I, Hiyoshi command you!" A young boy of medium height and flashing gray eyes came running through the door. He had pure white hair, which would make anyone else look old except for him, and he was covered in black clothing. A silver earring dangled from his left ear.  
  
"Wow, he looks totally punk." Syaoran said quietly to Sakura.  
  
"Hey, he's sorta cute, but he looks like he belongs to a gang." Sakura said. "But what's he doing in my house?"  
  
Eriol sweat dropped. "Hey, guys, I forgot to introduce you to another Card Captor Master. This is Kimi Hiyoshi," Eriol said.  
  
"There's a Master of the cards too?" Tomoyo, Sakura, and Syaoran all exclaimed.  
  
"Oh, I knew that," Syaoran said immediately, trying to keep up the pretense of the fact that he knew everything about the cards. Eriol looked at him with an amused smile.  
  
"I just made him one," He told Syaoran smugly. Syaoran blushed fiercely.  
  
"Wow! Another guy to tape!" Tomoyo said gleefully. "And he's really kawaii too!"  
  
Hiyoshi blushed as Tomoyo swung the camera at him. "Hey, cut it out, girl," he said rudely.  
  
"Hiyoshi." Eriol cautioned.  
  
"Sorry," he said not sounding like it at all.  
  
"A Card Captor Master?" Sakura said with disbelief in her voice.  
  
"Yeah." Eriol said.  
  
"So it's been found?" Kero said quietly.  
  
"Yes," Eriol said. Sakura swung her head back and forth between the two of them.  
  
"Hoe! I don't get it."  
  
"We can't tell you anything yet, just that Hiyoshi is the one who will be trying to catch the remaining cards, though you may help him. You too little descendant. But you can't capture any new cards. Well, at least not too many. We can't have the two decks mixed together completely," he called to Syaoran.  
  
"Don't call me that!" Syaoran said clenching his fists tightly together.  
  
"Hi!" Sakura said to Hiyoshi,  
  
"And you are?" He asked indifferently.  
  
"I'm Kinomoto Sakura," She said,  
  
"Kinomoto-san?" He asked. "Yeah, but since Eriol recommends you, I guess you can call me Sakura- chan."  
  
Hiyoshi grinned at her, showing perfect white teeth to her. "Then I guess I'm Hiyoshi-kun then."  
  
"OK." Sakura grinned back. Syaoran glared at Hiyoshi, his face turning red.  
  
"Ooh, look at Li-kun!" Tomoyo whispered to Eriol while taping the entire scene.  
  
"Hey, Eriol-sama, is the whole thing with rivalry going to come out again?" She asked him.  
  
"Nope. I'll make sure of that. Sakura-chan must not get too many of the new cards into her deck, or else the results could be dangerous though."  
  
"Hoe. What are you talking about?" Sakura asked as she heard the dangerous part in Eriol's sentence.  
  
"We'll fill you in when the time comes. Well, Hiyoshi, you are a bit too late. The CC Mistress had just caught the last card of the Clow deck. And the one which leads to the next one." Eriol said. Kero nodded with him. Hiyoshi returned his staff, which was a light bluish hue, to his necklace around his neck.  
  
"Umm, Syaoran-kun." Sakura said softly. Tomoyo, Eriol, Hiyoshi, and Kero edged slowly out the door and headed downstairs for a snack, conveniently leaving Syaoran and Sakura by themselves. "Syaoran-kun, thank you." Sakura said softly.  
  
"For what?" Syaoran asked her as he stopped. He was getting ready to go, and he had one foot out the window.  
  
"It was you playing the flute. I would've been stuck if the music hadn't come to wake me up."  
  
"Oh, it was nothing," Syaoran said quickly, but he felt the familiar blush run up his face.  
  
"Syaoran-kun?"  
  
"Eh?" He asked as he was once again stopped.  
  
"Oh, never mind." Sakura said. Syaoran stared into her emerald eyes. They were serious and he realized how much Sakura had matured since he had come back. He had never fully examined her until now.  
  
"Oh yeah, here are your cards and staff. I had to get you back here, so I used the Fly card."  
  
"Oh, thanks." Sakura smiled as she caught the book and necklace. "WHOA!" Syaoran screamed. He had been caught off balance as he tossed the cards to Sakura and saw her smile at him. He fell off the window. He tumbled backwards and out the window. Sakura rushed to the window.  
  
"Syaoran-kun, are you ok?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah." He replied all starry-eyed. "Bye." He said staggering off down the street. A car went whizzing by him so fast that he fell over again. Sakura giggled to herself, in spite of Syaoran's position.  
  
"Wow, the kid wielded your staff too?" Kero asked as he, Tomoyo, and Eriol popped through the door. Sakura glared at them angrily. Tomoyo gave her a grin from underneath her camera.  
  
"I made the staff specifically for you, so I guess that Syaoran's powers have grown if he can use it too." Eriol said. He shook his head.  
  
"I know that both of you have immense magical powers, and that yours have increased a lot Sakura-chan." She blushed.  
  
"Thanks Eriol-kun."  
  
"Hey, what are you all doing here?" Touya's voice sounded quite closely by Sakura's door.  
  
"Who are you?" He asked, glaring pointedly at Hiyoshi. Hiyoshi grinned, and before Touya could even see the color of his hair, disappeared. Sakura sweat dropped. What if Syaoran had been here? Onii-chan would've exploded.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Hey, Tomoyo-chan." Syaoran called to her as he saw her in the hallway the next day."  
  
"Oh ho ho. Ohayou Li-kun." She had started calling him that instead of Syaoran-kun, which he didn't really mind. It basically only left Sakura as the one who called him Syaoran now.  
  
"About that new Hiyoshi kid, well." He trailed off.  
  
"Are you worried about Sakura-chan or anything?" Tomoyo asked innocently.  
  
"NO! Well, You know, with the whole Card Captor Mistress and Master thing. It just seems like they are suppose to be together," Syaoran said, softly.  
  
"Hey, Li-kun, I know Sakura-chan the best out of anyone in the world. I know that she does NOT fall in love with guys easily no matter who he is. I know that you two have shared a lot together, so don't worry. She's not going to just go with him because they are both capturing cards. Besides, you've got cards and powers too."  
  
"I know. Whatever," Syaoran walked off to class, slightly reassured by Tomoyo. She smiled to herself inside. She knew that Sakura and Syaoran were the perfect match, and her and Eriol would cheer them  
  
on no matter what. *~*~*~*  
  
"OK, OK. I'll go with you to the mall to get your present for Michael-kun," Syaoran said grudgingly as Sakura pushed him through the car door. She ran up to the drivers seat and started the engine.  
  
"Hey, Sakura-chan, wait up," A boy unfamiliar to her came up to the car. Sakura had gotten a new silver Spider convertible for her seventeenth birthday, and the top was down so she took in his appearance.  
  
He was wearing normal clothes, not gang types. Intense silver eyes studied her and a strand of loose blue hair fell into them suddenly, blown by the wind. He was of medium height and build, and not at all ugly.  
  
In fact, Sakura thought he was pretty cute, even though she had no idea who he was. She had a vague image, but couldn't remember. Syaoran clenched his fists. He started gripping his seat handle very tightly. Who was this weirdo guy that knew Sakura?  
  
"Hey, I'm Huang Kentaro, most people call me Kent-kun. Me and my cousin Leisa are new to Tomoeda, and I was wondering if you could show us around," he turned around to show his cousin Leisa. She had blue hair that was shoulder-length, and also piercing gray eyes.  
  
"Oh, you're the two new kids in town, Tomoyo-chan told me about you two," Sakura said.  
  
"Nice to meet you." Leisa said, ignoring Sakura.  
  
"Oh, I'm Li Syaoran," He said shortly as he noticed that she was talking to him. He didn't trust this girl either, even though she was attractive.  
  
"Syaoran-kun?" Leisa said.  
  
"Yeah." He replied, but he felt uncomfortable with her calling him by his name. He gave her another quick glance to look her over again. He felt something funny about them, but he couldn't say what it was. Suddenly, he got it and he froze. Sakura fumed inside as she saw the direction of his gaze.  
  
Who was this girl who came in and directly started calling Syaoran by his first name? She remembered how long it took for her to call him Syaoran. She was boiling mad. And Syaoran was staring at her too!  
  
"So, can you take us along for the ride?" Kentaro asked.  
  
"Sure." Sakura replied.  
  
"Can I call you Sakura-chan then?" He asked her.  
  
"Yeah, sure." Sakura said with a big smile to him, Syaoran stiffened, but didn't say anything out loud. "We're going to the Yamato Saki mall," Sakura said as they pulled out of the parking lot of the high school.  
  
"So, are you two dating?" Leisa said immediately as she got comfortable in the car. Sakura and Syaoran both stiffened. Sakura kept her eyes on the road and Syaoran blushed like crazy. "So?" Leisa asked again.  
  
"No!" Syaoran said quickly. He caught Sakura's eyes. She stared at them as she stopped for a red light. They were serious and cautioned her not to say anything. She nodded.  
  
"No."  
  
"Really?" Kent said with a mysterious glint in his eyes that Sakura didn't manage to catch before the light turned green again.  
  
"Oh." Leisa said excitedly.  
  
"Bitch." Sakura mumbled.  
  
"Hmm?" Kent asked.  
  
"She said that we're almost there," Syaoran filled in for her, warning Sakura quietly with a nudge. She glared back at him.  
  
They arrived at the mall, and they spent some time there, uncomfortably. Sakura didn't like it there because of how Leisa was hanging all over Syaoran, and Syaoran was uncomfortable because of how Sakura was being bothered by Kent. Neither of them noticed the other person that was hovering over them, just who was over the other person. (Confusing? OK, Sakura only noticed Leisa over Syaoran and Syaoran only noticed Kent over Sakura)  
  
Finally, right before they headed home, the two groups split up for a quick break. Sakura and Syaoran went to buy a gift for Michael, and Kent and Leisa headed to where they would meet, the Food Court. Sakura picked out a new shirt for Michael with Syaoran's help.  
  
"Hey, I thought that you had a really bad fashion taste. These clothes are really awesome. They match and are pretty cool colors," Sakura said to Syaoran. He blushed.  
  
"Well, last time, I wasn't really looking at the clothes," he said without meeting Sakura's eyes. As they walked back towards the food court, Sakura noticed a new store that caught her eye.  
  
"Hey, Syaoran-kun, this store looks cool. I'm going to go in and look around," Syaoran dutifully walked in behind her. There was no one else in the store and it had an eerie feeling to it with a touch of ancientness. As Sakura was looking around, she spotted a necklace. She picked it up and examined it. It was a small amethyst stone on a thin, fine silver chain.  
  
"Wow, it's beautiful!" She exclaimed out loud. Syaoran came over to look at the necklace.  
  
"Yeah, that is really pretty. It would look good on you," He said voicing his opinion.  
  
"Really?" Sakura asked staring deep into his amber eyes trying to see if he was lying or not. They let nothing escape from him to her.  
  
"Yeah," He took the necklace from her and helped her to put the necklace on. As his fingers lingered over Sakura's neck, she felt a shiver go up her spine again.  
  
Why is it whenever I'm near Syaoran, I get so nervous? She wondered to herself. She looked at her reflection in the nearby mirror. The necklace looked perfect on her. Syaoran thought so too, but he didn't say anything out loud.  
  
Wow! She looks beautiful. He thought to himself. Sakura brought the necklace up to the register.  
  
"Excuse me, but how much is this necklace?" She asked the old lady.  
  
"Hmm. Well, that is a very old and beautiful necklace," She said peering over her glasses at Sakura. She named a very high price, at least according to what Sakura had. Sakura gasped. She regrettably put the necklace back.  
  
Syaoran noticed her sadness and mentally made a note to himself. Sakura took one last glance at the necklace as she walked out of the Angel J. Then she walked back to the food court quickly. She stayed silent the entire time, not even noticing whether Syaoran was with her or not.  
  
"Hey, where's Syaoran-kun?" Leisa asked her as she came up to them.  
  
"Hoe?" Sakura asked confused. She looked around her. "Oh, I don't know." She couldn't see Syaoran at all in the midst of all of the people crowding in the mall.  
  
"Oh no! I'll go back to look for him," Sakura said as she started to turn around.  
  
Suddenly Michael was next to her. "Hey Sakura-san," He said flashing her a sweet smile.  
  
"Hey Kale-kun," Her concern for Syaoran diminished her surprise at having Michael so close to her.  
  
"So, what are you doing here?" He asked.  
  
"Shopping, what else? Are you off from suspension yet?" Sakura replied stating the obvious.  
  
"Oh. Yeah, I'm back in school this Monday." Michael replied. "It's wasn't that bad you know, I only talked back to Terada sensei a little bit."  
  
"Yeah, but it was still a big offense. Look, Michael-kun, I need to go look for someone, OK?" Sakura asked him anxious to get away and see where Syaoran was.  
  
"Well, actually." Sakura broke off. Syaoran had been avoiding her lately. And she was over him, right? And how big was it that you got lost in a mall. Syaoran came here all the time, didn't he? Plus he had been living by himself since he was in fourth grade. He couldn't be in that much of trouble. He could take care of himself. He had once mentioned that to her anyway. He didn't need anyone, and especially not her.  
  
"Never mind." She told Michael with a smile. . "So, what did you want?"  
  
"Oh, I was wondering if you would want to go with me to watch a movie with me sometime."  
  
Kent interrupted them by saying "Sakura-chan, look! There's Li-kun." Sakura turned around. There he was walking towards them with a mysterious smile on his face. Sakura immediately ran towards him leaving Michael stranded.  
  
"Syaoran-kun, what have you been doing?" Sakura asked him accusingly as she reached him.  
  
"Huh? Oh, nothing," Syaoran said as he nervously tried to hide a package he was holding in his hands. He was unsuccessful.  
  
"Hey, what is that?" Sakura asked as she tried to grab the bag away from Syaoran. Unfortunately, her coordination was off, and she fell forwards as Syaoran moved his bag away.  
  
"Hoe!" She yelled as she fell. Syaoran grabbed her firmly and steadied her.  
  
"Thanks," Sakura said to Syaoran once she had gotten her balance. "  
  
Yup." He replied carelessly.  
  
"OK, let's go home now." Sakura stared at him miserably. He was being really mean to her. Sakura dropped Leisa and Kent off at the school where their car was parked.  
  
"See you tomorrow," Kent waved to Sakura.  
  
"Bye." She said half-heartedly. Sakura started driving Syaoran home.  
  
"So." Sakura said finally to break the deafening silence.  
  
"Well, what do you think of them?" Syaoran asked her.  
  
"Kent's pretty nice, and Leisa is too. I guess," She added softly.  
  
"You just didn't like the way she was hanging over me, right?" Syaoran accused her. Sakura's face turned a bright red.  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Well, I've got a bad vibe about them. I'll show you. Here," Syaoran said as he jumped out of the car and took off in the direction of the park.  
  
"Wait up!" Sakura shouted as she ran after him.  
  
OK, second chapter is done. Now what? OK. I think that a camping trip should be coming up. And I think I'm going to have you meet the enemies in the next chapter too. Anyone think anything of Hiyoshi? I sorta based him off my fave character in Friuts Basket, Haru. Haru totally rules!!!!!! OK, R+R ~Ruby 


	3. Fear of Death

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS, or anything in here except my made-up characters and the story line.  
  
Chapter 3- Fear of Death  
  
"Wait up!" Sakura shouted to Syaoran. She caught up with him at the park.  
  
"Here." He called down from above a tall, tall, TALL tree.  
  
"Hoe!" Sakura said, as she got starry-eyed from just looking at it.  
  
"It's a good thing that it's night, so just use your Fly card to get up here," Syaoran yelled to her. Sakura whipped out her card and staff.  
  
"OK, I'm coming up." She said.  
  
As she landed on the branch with Syaoran, she asked him, "So, what's going on?"  
  
"Close your eyes, and just reach out with your senses," He told her.  
  
She took a deep breath and did just that. She gasped as she sensed the disruption and chaos in the surrounding world.  
  
"Wow," she said to Syaoran. "Yeah, and I could feel weird auras around the two Huangs, so I think that we should be careful around them."  
  
"OK." Sakura said. I'll try to listen to him, but I don't know if it's going to work. I didn't feel anything, and they just got here. What if he's wrong? Sakura conveniently forgot that he had almost never been proven wrong about magic yet.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Meilin!" Sakura shouted as she spotted her old friend. She ran up to the gate excitedly. Syaoran and Tomoyo weren't far behind. Tomoyo, as always, had her Sony V8 out. Eriol was there too.  
  
"Hey Meilin!" Syaoran coolly greeted her. He shyly handed her a bouquet of flowers. "Here."  
  
"Welcome back to Japan!" Tomoyo greeted her.  
  
"Thanks ya guys! I'm really glad that I could come. I missed Japan a lot, and all of ya guys!" She gave Sakura and Tomoyo both a warm hug.  
  
Sakura and Tomoyo moved off with Meilin, filling her in on all the events that Meilin had missed, leaving Syaoran Eriol with all of Merlin's bags.  
  
"Well, this shouldn't be too hard." Syaoran said to himself. Eriol grinned. He picked up three of Meilin's bags in his hands. Syaoran grinned as he spotted Meilin's single light bag.  
  
"Whoa!" he shouted again as the bag weighed him down. It weighed a ton! Eriol smiled slightly.  
  
"Too heavy for you?" He asked mockingly.  
  
"No!" Syaoran said defiantly, though he struggled with the bag all the way to the car.  
  
"What do you have in your bag?" he asked Meilin the moment they arrived home.  
  
"Oh, just some stuff that Aunt Ieran made me bring." Meilin flipped open the suitcase and out popped an enormous amount of Chinese things. Syaoran's eyes bulged out.  
  
"What! Mom made you bring out all this stuff? What for? Oh my gosh! How did you ever get it in that little suitcase?" He sighed. "Well, I should've expected it. Mother is always making me work."  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Class, I'm sure that you have all noticed the two new members in our class, Huang Kentaro and Huang Leisa. They have transferred here from..."  
  
"Taiwan." Leisa said in a firm voice.  
  
"Taiwan." The sensei repeated. "I haven't had enough time to fully introduce them, but here they are. Also, many of you may remember Li Meilin, who had joined us again from Hong Kong."  
  
Kent gave Sakura a wink as he returned to his seat. Behind Sakura, Syaoran fumed as he saw Sakura smile back at Kent.  
  
Sakura wondered what drew every new student's attention to her. She flashed a grin back. Syaoran had felt her powers, and Eriol had known that she was the Card Captor Mistress. Meilin had been obviously jealous of her, and Michael was being too nice to her too. Leisa had also suddenly developed an interest in her when they had first met. That was a funny one. Sakura had no idea why of course. Kent was also being really nice to her.  
  
"Now, our annual sophomore camping trip of Seijou High to Camp Kerala is coming up soon." The teacher announced to the class. "All of your permission slips need to be handed in by tomorrow. The trip starts next Monday. So hurry up and don't delay to hand in your slips."  
  
Sakura was decidedly bored again. She stared out the window as the teacher droned on and on about the camping trip. She could hardly wait until the camping trip. The one that she had gone on last year had been really fun. Plus, this year Meilin and Eriol were here. It was the first week of October. Suddenly, she noticed something moving against the fence. As she watched, the shadow burned a hole in the fence. As it grew larger, Sakura gasped. The shadow slipped through it and she could see it race away. Then the hole magically mended itself. What in the world was that? She wondered to herself.  
  
"Sakura-chan," she heard Tomoyo whisper loudly. It was her turn to read. Class had started again.  
  
"Where are we?" She asked Tomoyo softly as she scanned her book.  
  
"Top of page 16." Tomoyo answered.  
  
"And the girl ran quickly up to the top of the hill." Sakura continued.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"So, you, me, Chiharu-chan, Rika-chan, Meilin-chan, and Naoko-chan are all going to share a room together?" Sakura asked Tomoyo after school. "No, of course not!" Tomoyo said exasperatedly. "That's way too many people in one tent. So Rika-chan, Naoko-chan, and Leisa-chan will share a tent together. And then you, Chiharu-chan, and me will share a tent together. And also Meilin-chan. Unless of course we get cabins, which will make it a lot easier on us because then we can all bunk together."  
  
"Oh, I get it now." Sakura mumbled cluelessly. "And should I bring Kero- chan along? He really want to go with us, but I'm not sure if bringing him is a good idea."  
  
"Of course you should bring him along. He'll be really helpful.  
  
"Especially if this camping trip turned out like the last one." They heard a voice behind them say.  
  
"Syaoran-kun!" Sakura exclaimed in surprise. "Hey!" He replied.  
  
"Meilin! I can't wait to go to camp with you!" Sakura exclaimed happily. "It'll be so fun together!"  
  
"Yeah, last year was so much fun!" Tomoyo added.  
  
"I can't believe I missed it!" Meilin wailed. "So what happened?" She asked.  
  
"Umm." Sakura and Tomoyo both sweat-dropped. They couldn't remember exactly what had happened.  
  
"Duh, there was a huge snowstorm, and we got stuck in the cabins for ages. But we caught the Snow card and the Warmth card. We really needed the Warmth card. It was freezing there." Syaoran helped Sakura and Tomoyo out a bit in memory.  
  
"Oh yeah." Sakura said as she remembered.  
  
"But it was a great experience!" Rika jumped in. "Rika-chan!" Sakura screamed. No one had noticed Rika, Chiharu, and Yamazaki coming up behind them. "  
  
Yeah, you know what else happened, a huge ice monster appeared, and trashed two cabins, and a there was a huge ice storm, and we couldn't go anywhere, and we." Yamazaki was cut off because Chiharu crammed an apple into his mouth full force.  
  
"Now, where were we?" Chiharu asked calmly.  
  
"Whoa, someone's mad." Syaoran commented slyly. Then he dodged behind Meilin as Chiharu's face grew an angry red.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"So. Kero-chan, I've decided to take you with me to camp." Sakura told Kero when she arrived home. Her father was out, and Touya was at a basketball game.  
  
"Yay!" Kero cheered. "Now, I'm gonna need lots of food, video games to keep me entertained, plus a comfy bed, and a warm place to sleep. Oh yeah, don't forget that I also want a new cell phone, and a pair of sunglasses."  
  
"Hoe! There's no way I'm gonna do that for you!" Sakura exclaimed. "I'm only bringing you because Syaoran-kun said that you were going to be helpful."  
  
"The Brat said that?" Kero said surprised. "Maybe he's better than I thought he was."  
  
"He does have a name." Sakura complained.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I know. Anyway, the Brat looks a lot better now. I think that he's matured. Kero said.  
  
"Oh yeah. I noticed a weird thing this afternoon." Sakura told Kero about the fence incident with the shadow.  
  
"That doesn't sound familiar to me at all. Well, I'm not supposed to know what the other cards are anyway because I'm only the keeper of the Clow cards, and they've all been collected now. It does sound dangerous though. We don't even know what it is yet. So I'm advising you to be careful now. It might be another card, or even another force. But even if it is, don't catch it. You should keep it under force until Hiyoshi arrives on the scene. " Kero ended because his video game started up.  
  
Sakura sighed. She was still uneasy about the entire thing. It was a relief that Syaoran would be coming along. He could do his whole heroic thing and save her if anything happened. Sakura sighed again as she remembered the many times that Syaoran had saved her back when they had been collecting the cards. And what had she done to repay him? Absolutely nothing. So, what should she do? She thought to herself.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Syaoran was in a very bad mood. Meilin had just dragged him around the mall shopping for clothes. Syaoran felt very degraded as he hauled clothes around the mall after Meilin.  
  
"Hey, where exactly did you get all of the money to buy this stuff?" Syaoran asked Meilin suspiciously after she had bought her sixth outfit from Ikasan.  
  
"Well." Meilin sweat-dropped. "Umm. I'm maxing your credit card."  
  
"What!" Syaoran yelled out.  
  
"Well, you did steal it from Aunt Ieran. And she said that I could do whatever I wanted here to keep you in check. And of course I don't think that you need a credit card at all. So I'm going to use it."  
  
Syaoran grabbed his credit card back from Meilin and marched straight out of the store.  
  
"Wait!" Meilin cried out after him. "Hey, I was just kidding! Please, please let me use your credit card. Please, I really want to buy this dress. It'll look great on me for the prom."  
  
"We don't have a prom until our junior year." Syaoran told Meilin curtly. She clutched the white gown firmly. It had silver sequins down the sides and was really beautiful. Syaoran sighed in defeat. Meilin noticed, but took it as a sigh of disgust and tried a different tact.  
  
"But, you know, a fancy party or something. Plus, we have a new tradition at our school, we're having a sophomore prom too."  
  
"We do?" Syaoran asked surprised.  
  
"Yeah!" Meilin said excitedly. "How could you not know? I just arrived here and I already know about it."  
  
"Hey, who keeps me in touch with school events?" Syaoran muttered angrily. "And the answer is still no."  
  
"Hey, you could give it as a present for Sakura to wear to Homecoming. It's coming up. November is next month." Meilin said slyly.  
  
"What?" Syaoran shouted in disbelief. November was next month, "That means that it's October." He said slowly.  
  
"Yeah genius. Time to start prepping for soccer?" Meilin grabbed the credit card back from the stunned Syaoran and headed back to the store.  
  
"Wait up!" Syaoran yelled as he ran after Meilin. Then, "Soccer? Yeah, I think that I will go to the tryouts."  
  
Meilin walked out of the store humming happily to herself. "Now what?" Syaoran asked her. "Oh, I just bought the most adorable dress, it was so beautiful, and I just couldn't leave it. And it was on sale!" Meilin held up a pastel blue dress that had tiny white flowers all over it. "My silver flower necklace's going to go great with this." She exclaimed.  
  
Syaoran groaned. "C'mon, let's go. Girls!" he muttered under his breath.  
  
"What?" Meilin asked him accusingly. "Nothing!" He denied quickly. She eyed him suspiciously but dropped her gaze. Syaoran sighed in relief.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"So, cous, we gonna do anything to them over camp?"  
  
"Maybe. I'll think about it," A female voice answered.  
  
"Leisa, why do you get to do all of the decisions?" The other voice whined.  
  
"Because you are a stupid imbecile who can't do anything right." Leisa snapped.  
  
"Hey, I'm smarter than you." A retort came at her.  
  
"Yeah whatever." Leisa said casually. She sighed. "None of the other guys in this town are good enough for me. There are all such imbeciles."  
  
"You know what your problem is, you are way too self-centered. I mean, what do you mean you haven't fallen in love with any of them. I see you drooling over that Syaoran-kun guy all the time. And he's so in love with Sakura- chan."  
  
Grey eyes mocked Leisa. Leisa's face reddened.  
  
"No, I think that it is better if we destroy them by each other. If I can make Syaoran-kun fall in love with me, Sakura- chan will be torn apart. Then we'll gain control of all of the cards. He comes in real handy when I want to torture Sakura-chan." She smiled evilly. "Maybe I will do something to them over camp. We need to get closer to them. Know your enemies well enough, and we'll be able to crush them like that!" Leisa snapped her fingers.  
  
"Yeah, Leisa, have you ever thought about giving this whole idea up? I mean I still don't understand why you are so into it. I mean, why are we still doing this?"  
  
"Because those Clow cards were destined to be ours. And that Sakura girl stole them form us with Syaoran-kun. Who I'm sure was forced to. But, our ancestral lines call on us to retrieve the stolen cards. They are ours!" Leisa's eyes flashed.  
  
"Whoa! Nice little speech there cous. Getting ready to become to become president?"  
  
"This is a serious matter. Pay attention. Don't joke about it, those are our cords, and I want them back,"  
  
"But we've already got this other deck of Reed cards. Can't you be satisfied with those?"  
  
"No. When we join the two decks together into one, it will form the ultimate deck- the Màng deck. With it we can be unstoppable. We can send all our cards from the Reed deck after Sakura-chan. Then when she collects them all, we can overpower her and take the deck from her and we will win."  
  
"Wait, cous, I thought that you said that when the two decks are joined together, the mistress will be unstoppable." Kent interrupted Leisa as he pointed out a very important fact.  
  
"OK, so we'll keep a few cards at home and send the rest out to torment her." Leisa retorted angrily. Then her eyes lit up.  
  
"You're wrong. Didn't you feel the new force entering Japan? Eriol-sama, he brought a new force along, a boy named. Kimi Hiyoshi." She said as she concentrated. Her eyes were closed and her eyebrows furrowed in deep perseverance.  
  
"Fine. So what cards are you going to torment Sakura-chan and the rest of them with?" "This one." Leisa said with a glint of evil in her gray eyes as she picked one up.  
  
"Ooh! That's evil."  
  
"I know."  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Sakura was busy browsing through mall stores hopelessly. She still hadn't found a present for Syaoran yet. And she wanted to give it to him before something bad happened. She could sense it somewhere. Dark power was growing stronger, but it was an even stronger blow than that that was coming soon. She sighed as she ended her search and headed home. Camp was tomorrow and she was anxious to go. School had been everlasting.  
  
Maybe I could ask Meilin. Sakura thought. She knows him best. She'd know exactly what to get him. Just like she helped me in fourth grade. Sakura grinned. I'd better give him a present fast though. Even though nothing can ever repay him on how many times he's saved my life. Sakura smiled in remembrance. Suddenly, she saw a flashing blade coming down on her.  
  
"Hoe!" She screamed as she fell backward to escape. The blade narrowly missed her. It sliced through her jacket. A figure clad in black wielded the sword. "Who are you?" Sakura gasped as she nervously backed away. Her heart pounded loudly as she ran into a wall. Great! Just my luck to run into a huge problem the one night I don't walk home with anyone.  
  
Silently the figure advanced without a word. Crimson red eyes burned into Sakura's green eyes. Sakura grabbed her key.  
  
"Duh, I should've thought of this first. Fly, release!" She yelled. The figure stepped back and faded away into the shadows as Sakura flew away. Sakura shivered as she looked back. She was mad at herself for not knowing how to defend herself and for running away. If Syaoran had been here, he wouldn't have run away. He would immediately have fought. He knew how to defend himself. How could she have run away?  
  
Sakura resolved to herself to ask Syaoran if he could teach her the martial arts. That way, she would be able to defend herself next time. But of course he would probably laugh at her for running away. Sakura sighed. Well, she'd have to live through it.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"What?!" Kero exploded when Sakura told him what had happened. "That's so freaky! Do you think that it has anything to do with the shadow you saw the other day?"  
  
"Maybe." Sakura replied.  
  
"And are you sure that you want to learn form the Brat? I mean, he will make a good coach, but I still don't trust him. He's way too spoiled." Kero cautioned Sakura.  
  
"Hey, I can make my own decisions now." Sakura retorted to Kero. "And he's spoiled? Not as much as you are."  
  
"Hey, and that reminds me, where is my pudding?"  
  
"Mmm." Sakura said subconsciously. She was busy thinking about the camp. She could hardly wait, and it was just tomorrow.  
  
"Sakura-chan, go get me something to eat." Kero ordered her just as she heard her father call her down for dinner.  
  
She ran down the stairs and slid into her seat at the table. Sakura immediately began eating. She was starving.  
  
"Mm this is really good otou- san." She complimented her father.  
  
"Arigato Sakura-chan. I'm glad someone likes my food." Her father told her as he gave a hard glance at Touya who was playing a game on his cell phone while half eating his food. "So, otou-san, Sakura, I've got a college application interview coming up in a month, January. You know, for our graduate school. Yukito and I plan to go out of the country. Not that we don't like it here in Japan." Touya added quickly. But Yuki and I are going together and we just wanted to get a scene change. It's in England, remember, for Oxford University. We might try out Cambridge too."  
  
"Ina month? OK." Sakura said. "Whatever."  
  
"Touya, you need to ask me before you decide things like this." Fujitaka reprimanded him. "But it's ok with me. How long will you be gone?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know. Yuki and I want to tour around England too. Look at all the famous places. So maybe all of February and some of March." Touya said as he nervously looked at his father for approval.  
  
"Two months! That's a long time!" Sakura said in disbelief.  
  
"Yeah, I know that." Touya said dryly,  
  
"Two months is quite a long time. I might have to reconsider my decision about letting you go."  
  
"But otou-san, I really want to go. Plus, I am an adult now. So you can't stop me."  
  
Fujitaka sighed. He glanced at the picture of his late wife, Nadeshiko. Help me decide. It's been so hard bringing up Touya and Sakura without you. They really needed a mother. I hope that I've been a good father to them. I miss you Nadeshiko. He pleaded to her.  
  
Amazingly, he felt a slight stir in his soul. Let him go. I'll watch over him.  
  
"Alright, you can go." He said to Touya,  
  
"Sweet!" Touya cheered.  
  
I'll always be with you. Nadeshiko's voice seemed to whisper to Fujitaka. He smiled.  
  
Sakura looked on in surprise. A few seconds ago, her brother had been a whiny little boy. And now he was acting more mature. Guys, they're so immature. I guess the sayings true that they mature a lot slower than girls do. Except Syaoran-kun of course. And Eriol-kun. Now what's up with otou- san. He seems so happy.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Kero-chan, I can't find my camera!" It was the morning of camp and Sakura was frantic.  
  
"Well, I don't know where it is." Kero said absorbed in his video game. "You should've put everything away last night."  
  
"Oh, here it is." Sakura pulled out her camera from underneath her chair.  
  
"OK, C'mon. We're going." She grabbed Kero up from his game, and stuffed him inside her bag. Sakura ran downstairs and grabbed a roll out from the basket. She dropped her stuff by the table. Eating quickly, she gulped down her milk as she nodded a greeting to her dad.  
  
"Where's onii-chan?" She asked him.  
  
"Oh, he just left to meet up with his friend Tsukishiro Yukito to go biking or something." Her father replied. He held out a bag to her.  
  
"What's it for?" Sakura asked curiously.  
  
"Oh, just some snacks for my little girl in case she needs something at camp."  
  
"Thanks otou-san." Sakura said as she gave her dad a quick hug. "Well, you'd better hurry. School's gonna start in 10 minutes." Her father warned Sakura. She dashed out the door, and then came running back in.  
  
"I forgot my stuff." She told her dad humiliatedly as she grabbed her junk and slipped on her roller blades quickly. Another quick hug and she was on her way to school. Catching up to her brother, she gave him a mean glare.  
  
"Hey Sakura-chan." She heard Yuki say.  
  
"Good morning Yukito-san." She replied. Yuki smiled at her brightly.  
  
"Are you excited about camp?" He asked her as he slowly coasted on his bike.  
  
"Yeah! It's going to be really fun. It was great last year, and I want to see how it turns out this year." Sakura replied excitedly.  
  
"I hope you have fun." He told her.  
  
"Thanks." Sakura said. They reached Seijou High.  
  
"Bye." Sakura waved at Yuki and Touya. Touya gave a half-wave back, and Yuki grinned.  
  
"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo yelled out. "C'mon, the buses are loading already. I've saved you a seat with us. Everyone's there already." Sakura ran to the bus with Tomoyo right behind her. Meilin gave Sakura a warm smile. Syaoran stared outside the window as Sakura passed, but stared at her after she had passed until Meilin poked him in the ribs.  
  
"What?" He asked her angrily.  
  
"Don't stare like that at Sakura-chan. You're practically drooling over her." Meilin giggled.  
  
"No I'm not!" Syaoran said defiantly.  
  
"Sakura-chan! Late again!" Chiharu scolded. Everyone smiled good- naturedly. Rika and Naoko started up a conversation about camp.  
  
"I can't wait till the campfire. We can tell all these ghost stories!" Naoko said gleefully.  
  
"Ahh!" Sakura said. "Ghost stories, I hate them!"  
  
"Yeah, and you know what else?" Yamazaki started.  
  
"Just shut up already." Chiharu said as she bonked Yamazaki on the head.  
  
"The stories come true if they are scary enough and the monsters come out to haunt the camp kids." Yamazaki continued.  
  
"Ahh!" Sakura screamed. Tomoyo calmed her down. "It's not really true, he's just teasing you." She told Sakura.  
  
"Anyway, if you're scared, you can hang onto me." Kent said to Sakura. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and she snuggled under him.  
  
"Thanks Kent-kun." She said. Syaoran's face got redder and redder, until Tomoyo and Meilin thought he would explode. They giggled to each other. Eriol, Meilin, and Tomoyo had already made up many plans on how to get the two of them together, although having Leisa and Kent there would complicate their plans.  
  
"And if I get scared, can I snuggle under you Syaoran-kun?" Leisa said to him. Catching Sakura's bright green eyes, Syaoran grinned. Two can play at this.  
  
"Of course." He said as he wrapped his arm around her.  
  
"Sakura-chan?" Kent asked softly. She turned back to him, and was soon engaged in an interesting conversation about music bands. Halfway through the trip, Sakura noticed Syaoran sitting all by himself. Everyone else was absorbed in conversations. Sakura slipped over to Syaoran's seat quietly. Of course, the one person who noticed this was Tomoyo. She immediately turned on her Sony V8.  
  
"I definitely can't miss this opportunity when they are so close together." She murmured to herself. Syaoran looked up when he saw Sakura arrive.  
  
"What do you want?" He asked her gruffly as he resumed staring outside the window.  
  
"Well." Sakura was hurt by his coldness. She took a breath and then told him all about last night's experience with the figure and the sword. Just as she had expected, he criticized her.  
  
"You ran away? How could you? I guess you were scared. You are going to need some serious training." He told Sakura.  
  
"Exactly, and I was thinking of asking you to help me." Sakura told him shyly. "I know that this is a really hard thing to do, but I do really need some training. And I really want to learn how to fight so next time I can beat that guy up." Sakura declared. "So can you teach me?"  
  
"Of course. But you're gonna have to get up at four every morning and meet me in the park to train." He told Sakura.  
  
"Hoe! Four in the morning! That's so early." Sakura complained. But as Syaoran opened his mouth, she nodded quickly.  
  
"Yes, I can do that."  
  
"OK. Then we'll start next Monday after we get back from camp."  
  
"Whatever you say." Sakura sighed thinking of what she was going to get him now.  
  
"What is it?" Syaoran asked quickly.  
  
"Nothing." Sakura replied surprised that he had noticed that something was wrong. "Sakura." Syaoran stated simply. He paused. "What?"  
  
"Never mind." Syaoran replied as he lost his nerve. Sakura stared deeply into his amber eyes trying to see if anything was hidden in there, but Syaoran did too well of a job of hiding his emotions. She moved out of her seat and returned to the group. Tomoyo just managed to put her video camera away before Sakura saw it.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Syaoran stared after Sakura. True, he had agreed to help her train, but he had not thought that she would agree to it. Four was really early in the morning. Of course he woke up at three every morning to train, but he was used to it. He couldn't imagine Sakura doing that. Plus, if he didn't train, he would get out of touch with his skills. He wondered how long it would take for Sakura to give up. It wasn't that he doubted her, but the martial arts were a very hard art to learn, especially at an older age like theirs. It had taken a lot of perseverance for Syaoran to succeed, and he had had a very, very patient teacher. Chensen. Would he ever be as patient to Sakura?  
  
Could he? Meilin of course had just finished her training, but no one here knew about that. They had just figured that she went home and returned because she had been ordered to. Syaoran had given up so many times to be steered on track by Chensen again. Syaoran had been totally devastated when his father had suddenly died. Chensen and Meilin had turned him around though. The Elders had wanted to send Syaoran to a psychiatric ward because of his unstable behavior. The loss of his father had been a big blow. His mother had been so busy with his other four sisters that she hardly had any time for Syaoran. She gave possession of him over to Chensen with only a moment of hesitation. True, Meilin had been the same age as him, but she was very mature. The arrangement for her to marry Syaoran was a surprise to both of them, even though she had never acted that way.  
  
She had always been like an older sister to Syaoran while they were growing up. She had finally had the engagement removed while Syaoran was in Hong Kong 6 years ago. She knew about Syaoran's love for Sakura, and supported them a lot. She was now engaged to another cousin. His name was Li Senjin. Syaoran didn't really like the arrangement, since he knew that Senjin was a really stupid and crappy guy, , but he also he knew that Meilin deserved a lot better than that knew Meilin could have the marriage broken off easily though. All he had to do was make sure that Meilin didn't get too depressed or do something crazy, like marry him. Even though she hadn't shown that when she had first arrived in Japan and had to compete with Sakura, she had gotten over Syaoran fast. She knew that they really didn't belong together. Chensen and Meilin were sister and brother.  
  
They had helped Syaoran through many hard times. Chensen was only twelve years older than Meilin and Syaoran. Syaoran could remember the many times when Chensen had stood patiently over him, perfecting every move that Syaoran made, fixing every wrong stance. How Chensen had persuaded the Elders to let Syaoran take the test, how Chensen had smiled when Syaoran had passed. Syaoran was suddenly filed with a desire to go home. But then Chensen had deserted him and died of an illness. Syaoran's eyes filled with unshed tears, and they were about to all come spilling out when Sakura yelled out excitedly,  
  
"We're there!" All of the girls, Sakura, Meilin, Tomoyo, Chiharu, Rika, Naoko, and Leisa picked out a cabin together. It turned out that no tents were to be used, and it was a lot easier. Syaoran, Yamazaki, Michael, Kent, Eriol, and some other classmates shared another cabin. As Sakura unpacked, out flew Kero. He gasped for air as Sakura apologized. Sakura then filled him in on what had happened, which wasn't a lot.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Later that night, there was a small dance at the main cabin.  
  
"C'mon Syaoran, dance with me!" Leisa pulled him onto the dance floor with amazing strength. Sakura watched Syaoran resisting her, and then giving in. He saw him watching her, and she turned her face away quickly.  
  
"Hey, Sakura, want to dance?" Michael asked her. Kent was just steps away, wanting a turn too. She turned down Michael, seeing the looks that Naoko was giving him. She knew that she wasn't the one for him. They were just good friends. Kent stood next to her, eagerly waiting her answer to his question.  
  
"Nah." Sakura broke off. Was that Leisa's face that she saw buried in Syaoran's chest?  
  
"Sure Kent." She replied. Waltzing onto the floor, she suddenly felt Kent trip and fall. He hit a table with some food on it. WHOOSH! All of the food fell off and splattered on his shirt.  
  
"Baka!" He muttered as he excused himself. Sakura caught Syaoran's amber eyes. They were still looking serious, though they had a mischievous glint to them. She glared at him angrily, then excused herself and ran off to the cabin.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Little Wolf. HA! You've got such false hopes. Chensen is dead, and you know Meilin is soon to follow. Plus now you've pushed your precious Cherry Blossom too far away. She's gone. She will never be yours." A taunting voice told Syaoran.  
  
"NO!" Syaoran screamed. "Sakura, come back!" She moved further and further away from him. Her emerald eyes overflowed with sadness. She looked at Syaoran longingly once more before she turned her back on him and floated away.  
  
"How could you do this to me?" He heard her voice whisper softly to him, her voice drifting back to him on the wind. "What did I ever do to deserve this?"  
  
"NO, Sakura, come back!" Paying no attention to him, Sakura disappeared. Running after her, Syaoran found himself stranded on a cliff. A gentle push was from behind was all that was needed for Syaoran to go tumbling down onto the rocky surf.  
  
OK, third chapter is done. Now what? Anyone miss Hiyoshi? He hasn't enrolled in school yet, but he'll appear next chapter. Anything else that you're confused about, or want me to change or whatever, email me at rowzezqueen@yahoo.com ~Ruby 


	4. Grief Falling to the Waves

Chapter 4- Grief Falling to the Waves  
  
Syaoran woke up sweating. He sat up in his bed gasping for breath. Sakura! He thought as he quickly slipped on his clothes and running outside.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Sakura sat straight up in bed. Making sure everyone was asleep she tiptoed outside. She then ran through the woods onto the nearby cliff overhang. She sat at the very edge, unafraid of falling. She stared down. The crashing waves proved too much for her, and she stood up. She stared deeply into the starry sky. It was a clear night without any clouds, and she could see all of the stars perfectly.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"You know that we're just friends, right Sakura." Syaoran told her in a taunting voice.  
  
"Hoe? Oh. Of course." She replied trying to sound casual. "Just friends." But her heart sank in dismay.  
  
Wake Up Sakura! Syaoran screamed out in his mind. What the hell am I saying? Why am I doing this? Am I protecting her? From what? Syaoran asked himself. From me. I need to do this to make sure that she survives. Everyone near me is dying. Father, now Chensen, Meilin is getting married. I need to protect Sakura. I have to. She's too precious. I can't have her fall away. She can be content with Kent-kun or Kale-kun. Both of them turned away.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Wait, that never happened." Syaoran said to himself. "How did we just communicate in a dream? Where did it come from? No wonder Sakura-chan's so sad. I have to talk to her." But as he started to rise up, he stopped himself. "But do I want to? Should I leave it the way it is? It is true, isn't it?" he crouched in the shadows of the trees behind Sakura.  
  
Sakura's eyes silently shed tears as Syaoran watched.  
  
"Why? Why can't he just love me? Why does he always push me away? I do love him, and all he ever gives me is suffering. Onii-chan was right, he is just a spoiled brat. But why can't he love me? And why do I love him? What is it about him that makes me hopelessly in love with him?"  
  
The despair and pain he heard in Sakura's voice tore out Syaoran's heart. He fought the urge to run out and hug her. He wanted to run out and hold her tight in her arms. He wanted to say that it was alright. He wanted for her to know that he loved her too. He wanted for all this to have never happened. Why did he have to have this happen? He wanted to.  
  
He stepped back in agony. CRACK! He snapped a branch. He held his breath silently as Sakura whirled around. If she saw him, it would all be over.  
  
"Hoe! Hello? Anyone there?" Sakura peered closely at where Syaoran was hiding. He got a closer glance at her. She was so beautiful. Her clear emerald eyes and almond hair matched perfectly with her perfect figure.  
  
Sakura sighed and turned away. Suddenly Syaoran felt something twinge near him. A dark force! He thought. Does Sakura feel it? Obviously she hadn't because she gazed peacefully over the water.  
  
Without warning, a sudden quiver in the air made both Sakura and Syaoran jump. Sakura lost her footing and as Syaoran jumped out, her eyes met his. She screamed once as she fell.  
  
"NO!" Syaoran yelled as she disappeared from his view over the cliff. As he looked over the edge, he heard a loud splash in the water. Why didn't she save herself? He wondered.  
  
He quickly ran down to the beach. How could he have lost her without ever telling her his true feelings for her? Now she would never know. "Sakura!!!!" He screamed desperately.  
  
What am I going to tell everyone? And what had that thing been? He scanned the water frantically for Sakura. Quickly he stripped off his shirt and dove into the water without a second's hesitation.  
  
He resurfaced after a few minutes. Taking a deep breath, he dove in again. As he resurfaced, he spotted a head bobbing above the water. Immediately, he swam towards it with his powerful front crawl strokes. As he go closer, he could tell that it wasn't Sakura. She would never have been able to survive the fall. The girl had wavy vermilion hair and soft sky blue eyes. She shrank away from Syaoran as he got closer.  
  
"Stay back Human! I know how to defend myself from the likes of you!" She threatened, but in a soft and frightened voice.  
  
"I need help! Who are you?" Syaoran asked puzzled.  
  
"Help? I'm a mermaid." She suddenly flipped around and disappeared under the water. Syaoran treaded water, looking around for her again.  
  
"Hey, I do really need some help, Please? Can you help me?" Syaoran begged. The mermaid reappeared laughing. She splashed Syaoran playfully with her tail.  
  
"I'm Rashila. You seem like a nice enough Human. What do you need?"  
  
"My umm. My friend just fell into the water from the cliff, have you seen her? I can't find her." Syaoran swallowed the lump that was welling up in his throat. "Can you find her?"  
  
"Oh. That's who fell in. My sisters have her. I'll be right back." Rashila disappeared in a splash of water. Syaoran sighed. Would it work? He waited nervously and impatiently while treading water. Nothing happened for a long time. Syaoran began to think that he had been hallucinating.  
  
As he started back to shore, he heard a loud splash. He flipped around. Seeing nothing, he was veering towards shore again when he heard Rashila's soft voice.  
  
"Hey, wait!" Rashila had returned with two other mermaids. They both had long blonde hair and blue eyes. Their long lashes fluttered as they flashed them at Syaoran. "These are my sisters." Rashila announced.  
  
"Sakura?" Syaoran asked worriedly.  
  
"Oh yeah." One of Rashila's sisters said. She blew into a small necklace that was hanging at her neck.  
  
The next moment, two dolphins appeared. They were carrying Sakura's limp body on top of theirs.  
  
"It was not her time to die." The other sister said.  
  
"And her ancestors have helped us out before." Rashila said.  
  
"She's such an angel." Syaoran personally agreed with this statement.  
  
"I'm Nadali. And this is Vivine and Rashila, who you already met before." Nadali said. She was apparently the eldest one.  
  
Syaoran dragged Sakura's body with his back to shore. The mermaids floated along too until they got to a cove. Syaoran lifted Sakura's body onto the shore.  
  
"What do you mean that her ancestors have helped you before?" Syaoran asked inquisitively. He wanted to find out all he could about the mermaids.  
  
"Oh, well." A rustle in the bushes and a call for "Sakura!" made everyone jump. Rashila quickly handed Syaoran a necklace with a tiny conch seashell on it.  
  
"Use it when you want to reach us again." Vivine instructed. Without so much as a wave, the three water sprites disappeared into the water like that! So how did people start looking for Sakura?  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
When Sakura had first left the cabin, she had been mistaken when she thought everyone was asleep. At least two people were awake. Tomoyo had only been pretending to be asleep. She sneaked out quietly after Sakura and she had videotaped everything. She had also noticed Syaoran. When Sakura had suddenly fallen, Tomoyo had raced as fast as she could back to the cabins to wake up Kero. Frantically, she explained in a rush of words to him the dilemma. "Sakura. trouble.fallen off cliff.dark force.need help!"  
  
Kero was gone immediately. Tomoyo woke up Meilin, and together they raced off after Sakura, Syaoran, and Kero. How could Tomoyo miss out on a chance to videotape Sakura in such a dire situation as this? Plus she was totally scared for Sakura.  
  
Unknown to anyone, a pair of gray eyes observed everything. An evil smile curled across her lips as she heard about Sakura. "I didn't think anything big like that would happen, but this makes it all easier." She said softly. "The Sorrow card worked perfectly."  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Sakura! Sakura!" Syaoran tried to wake her up anxiously,  
  
"Hoe!" Sakura shook her head trying to clear it. "Am I in heaven already? Why are you here Syaoran-kun? Don't tell me you jumped in after me because I'll kill you here if you did. Why is it so dark? Am I in hell? What happened?"  
  
Syaoran quietly hugged Sakura tightly for a second. Then he turned away to compose himself. "I'm glad you're OK." He said stiffly.  
  
"Yeah, so what happened?" Sakura was confused. Why did he pull away? I knew he didn't like me. I hate myself. He only protects me because I'm the Card Captor Mistress. It's his job.  
  
"Sakura." Syaoran stared into Sakura's eyes. Something wasn't right. Her usually clear emerald eyes were clouded over. "Sakura-chan, are you OK?" Syaoran asked her gently.  
  
"Of course." She replied quickly. Now he thinks that I'm a baby. He doesn't like me. He's only concerned because he doesn't want to be held responsible if anything happens to me.  
  
"Sakura, snap out of it!" Syaoran shouted. Sakura completely ignored him. Why can't he like me? I bet he likes Leisa-chan. Or Meilin-chan. Why am I worried about this anyway? I do like Michael-kun.  
  
Out of ideas, Syaoran did the only thing he knew to do. He slapped Sakura hard across the face. The haze cleared a little.  
  
"Hey!" Sakura said as she registered the slap.  
  
"Sakura, quick! You're being controlled with a card. I can't capture it! You're going to have to. C'mon. I know you can do it. What card is it? Hurry and seal it!"  
  
A mist was slowly seeping back into Sakura's body. As Syaoran tried to stop the mist from going back into Sakura's body, she thought hard. She grabbed her key from her neck. "Umm." What had happened before? Oh yeah. She had been feeling real sorry for herself because of.a dream?  
  
"Hmm.I know!" Swinging out her staff, Sakura yelled out, "Woody, come out and trap this thing."  
  
Woody whirled out of its card and jumped into contact with the mist. It became so thick around the misty figure, that it was trapped inside a whole wooden ball.  
  
The mist stopped trickling into Sakura's body. She was exhausted, but she had to keep her strength up so that Woody wouldn't collapse.  
  
"Where's Hiyoshi?" She screamed out.  
  
"Right here Sakura!" He yelled as he came running in. Eriol was right behind him with Meilin and Tomoyo.  
  
"Spirit of the dark forces, I command you by contract, return to your form, confine!" he yelled. "Sorrow!"  
  
Slowly, Woody let the mist out and it seeped into the card that Hiyoshi had created.  
  
Then she collapsed on the ground, exhausted. Syaoran caught her and lifted her up.  
  
"C'mon, let's go back."  
  
"Thanks Syaoran." Sakura mumbled.  
  
"For what?" he asked confused.  
  
"For believing in me." She said softly. "It helped me a lot."  
  
"Sakura." Syaoran gazed into her peaceful face. She was almost asleep from her fatigue.  
  
"Syaoran-kun, that dream that I had, was it."  
  
"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo yelled. She ran over  
  
Meilin started yelling at Syaoran.  
  
"What were you thinking? If I had lost you, who would I have had? You stupid!" She screamed trying to hug Syaoran.  
  
Then she realized Sakura was there. "Hey, oh. Oh. Ooh, you two are just so kawaii, aren't they Tomoyo-chan?"  
  
"Oh yeah!" She affirmed.  
  
Sakura stared deeply into Syaoran's amber eyes. Of course, they were cold without emotion again.  
  
"Hiyoshi let me see the card." Kero said. He had switched back into his regular form. "Hmm. Sorrow, it's impossible." He whispered softly. It was lost 300, 000 years ago. How could this be here?"  
  
"Kero-chan? Explain?" Sakura asked curiously.  
  
"Well." Kero hesitated not quite sure of himself.  
  
"I deserve to know as the Card Captor Mistress." Sakura demanded.  
  
Eriol nodded to him.  
  
"OK. Back when Clow Reed created the cards, he did originally make two decks of cards. Both were named after him, the Clow and Reed decks. You have the Clow deck. The Reed deck was lost from records about 300, 000 years ago. It is rumored that when the two decks combine together, they'll form a deck that'll be invincible. Clow Reed told me before that he didn't want them together so he split them apart. He never told anyone where he put the other deck though. I thought that he had burnt it or something like that. Even Eriol doesn't remember, which means that it was really secret."  
  
Voices came suddenly. "Sakura-chan, Meilin-chan, Tomoyo-chan, Syaoran-kun! Where are you guys?"  
  
"Talk about it later." Kero said as he disappeared into the woods. The sun was already halfway in the sky when Sakura and her friends returned to the cabins.  
  
After their Senseis gave them a lecture, they went to breakfast. The rest of the day was uneventful; the whole class just went exploring the woods.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Sakura had barely fallen asleep again that night when she was woken up by Meilin and Tomoyo.  
  
"C'mon Sakura-chan. It's morning-time.  
  
In the guys' cabin, Michael and Yamazaki were waking up Syaoran.  
  
"What do you want?" Syaoran mumbled as he turned his body face down. Michael glanced at Yamazaki, who nodded. In one swift movement, they dumped a bucket of ice, cold water over Syaoran's head.  
  
Sputtering, Syaoran jumped up. Yamazaki and Michael burst out laughing, Syaoran chased them out of his room.  
  
"Hey we woke you up, didn't we?" Michael yelled defensively.  
  
Camp was fun that day. Everyone spent the day hiking and playing games.  
  
Sakura even found a new type of salamander in the woods. Syaoran, the lonely one watched everybody from a distance away.  
  
Michael was congratulating Sakura. He gave her a warm hug, and she returned it. Syaoran looked away, hurt. Tomoyo noticed Syaoran all lonely. She went up to him.  
  
Sitting down next to him, she stared with him at the happy group.  
  
"You know, she's lonely." Tomoyo finally said.  
  
"Huh?" Syaoran asked feigning confusion.  
  
"You know who I'm talking about. Sakura. She needs someone to take care of her."  
  
"Yeah, well she already has Michael."  
  
"Michael-kun doesn't like her, Li-kun. Don't you know anything? He's totally in love with Naoko-chan. And she likes him too. He only flirts with Sakura-chan because it's his nature to do that. Do you think that she likes him?"  
  
"Well, what about Kent-kun? He flirts with her a lot too." Syaoran said stubbornly. He didn't like admitting to anyone that he liked Sakura. The only one who knew right now was Meilin, and she had practically tortured it out of him.  
  
"Li-kun, don't try to hide your feelings inside. Trust your heart."  
  
Syaoran was silent. Tomoyo walked off satisfied that she had done something good. She told Meilin what she had done, and they spent the rest of the time giggling about how they could get Sakura and Syaoran together.  
  
Sakura drifted further and further away from the group as Syaoran watched, distracted by a pretty butterfly that would lie still, and then as Sakura was about to catch it, it flew off.  
  
Suddenly, Sakura screamed. Syaoran was immediately by her side. Sakura pointed at a snake that was enlarging without every moment.  
  
"Fly!" Sakura shouted. Her wings sprouted out. "C'mon, Syaoran?"  
  
He was already floating above her.  
  
"I didn't know that you could fly." Sakura said surprised.  
  
"One of the little things that I've got hidden up my sleeve." Syaoran said smiling grimly.  
  
"Syaoran-kun, what is it?" Sakura asked him scared.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
Kero flew up. "Sakura, watch out!" Sakura immediately swerved up. The snake narrowly missed biting her. Noticing all her classmates screaming and running, she knew that she had to do something before one of them spotted her flying through the skies with Syaoran and Kero.  
  
"Sleep, release!" Sakura yelled. A sprinkling was all it needed for the entire camp to fall asleep. Meilin and Tomoyo didn't fall asleep though. Tomoyo was busy videotaping her and Syaoran, and Meilin looked ready to fight! No one noticed that Kent and Leisa ad disappeared.  
  
The snake's green, scaly skin was very ugly and its red eyes were almost hypnotizing. Sakura quickly looked away. and crashed straight into a branch. She fell hard. Syaoran couldn't move quickly enough to catch her, and she fell right in front of the snake.  
  
"NO!" Syaoran yelled. Not again.  
  
"Sakura-chan!" Kero yelled. He threw a fireball at the snake. Suddenly, the snake shimmered. It turned into a hospital room.  
  
"Chensen?" Meilin asked confused. She was puzzled.  
  
"Syaoran-kun!" Sakura yelled.  
  
Kero swept in front of Sakura and grabbed her up. She gripped her staff tightly.  
  
"He's only got a few days left." A doctor said. Meilin could see her brother and tears streamed down her face.  
  
"No!" Meilin shouted. She ran straight up to the snake.  
  
"Meilin!" Syaoran shouted.  
  
As he turned towards the snake, its red eyes arched towards him. Syaoran couldn't stop himself from gazing into them. He saw Sakura reflected in them. She was walking away from him with Kent.  
  
"How could you have thought that I would ever love you?" She asked laughing evilly.  
  
He stopped in midair. "NO." he whispered quietly. "Sakura, I do love you. How could you betray me?"  
  
Sakura saw Syaoran in midair with the snake about to strike.  
  
"Time to get over my fear, I guess." She whispered to herself. Gripping her staff tightly, she flew up towards the snake. "Kero, help me. What card is this?"  
  
"Wait! I've got it!" Hiyoshi yelled.  
  
"Spirit of the dark forces, return to the form by contract, I Hiyoshi, command you! Fear!"  
  
The snake disappeared into the card. As it floated down, Sakura shivered. Was what Syaoran saying true? She hoped that it was. And she also hoped that none of this stuff would ever happen.  
  
Especially having to face another snake as big as this one. She hated snakes so much!  
  
Syaoran and Meilin woke up from their trances. "Hey what happened?" They asked simultaneously.  
  
Sakura grinned. "It's a long story." Hiyoshi grinned with her.  
  
"C'mon!"  
  
The happy group headed for the cabins.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
"Damn!" A pain of angry gray eyes watched the ecstatic group.  
  
"Always next time cous." Leisa jumped. She glared angrily at her cousin.  
  
"Don't you ever do that to me again. We'll just have to do better next time. They've proved themselves more capable than I thought."  
  
"I told you so." Her cousin mocked.  
  
"Leisa glared angrily and strangled her cousin.  
  
So Hiyoshi is handling most of the card capturing, and Syaoran is still unsure about Sakura. I have too many new characters. I need to get rid of some. And then add another girl to like Syaoran, so there's more conflict. OK, side notes to myself. Leisa and Kent's story will get unfolded more as we go along, and maybe some more facts about Syaoran's past will appear. Comments at rowzezqueen@yahoo.com please. R+R ~Ruby  
  
PS- Mermaids will appear again sometime.maybe far off, but they'll appear again. :) 


	5. Shaky Homecoming

= thoughts  
  
" " = speaking  
  
~ ~ = telepathic stuff  
  
Chapter 5- Shaky Homecoming "Hey Syaoran," Meilin shouted to him. "Are you going to go to the homecoming with anyone?"  
  
"Eh?" Syaoran asked her.  
  
"Homecoming," she said as she stood in the doorway to his room.  
  
"Hey, get out!" He yelled at her as her pushed her out forcefully.  
  
"Watch out!" Meilin yelled at him, slapping him on the back.  
  
"Oww!" He groaned.  
  
"It's your own fault," she told him angrily. "Anyway, are ya going to go?"  
  
"Maybe," he replied.  
  
"Maybe? Just maybe?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Meilin sighed. "OK." *~*~*~* "Hey, Syaoran!" Leisa shouted to him after soccer practice. Both him and Kent had both made it onto the team. Syaoran looked up from the bottle of water that he was drinking from.  
  
Sakura also looked up. Cheerleading practice had just ended for her. She was hidden behind the bleachers so neither of them saw each other, though Sakura knew that Syaoran was there with Leisa.  
  
"Well, Homecoming's coming up, so I was wondering if you wanted to take me to the games or to the dance." Leisa asked him sweetly.  
  
"Eh? Oh sure," Syaoran replied. Sakura stiffened immensely.  
  
"OK, cool." Leisa said. "Oh, by the way, Sakura's behind the bleachers, looking for you." She sauntered out.  
  
Syaoran spotted Sakura and headed towards her, but she immediately ran off.  
  
"Sakura?"  
  
A furious Meilin whacked him on his head angrily. "Syaoran, how could you? I mean, I gave up on you because I saw how much you loved Sakura, and now you're going to the dance with Leisa?" Meilin demanded to him.  
  
"Eh?" Was that what I just said to her? Syaoran asked himself. Meilin slapped him one more time, and then ran after Sakura. *~*~*~*  
  
"Leisa that was very mean, what you did to innocent little Sakura there." Kent told her.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Leisa asked, guiltless as an angel.  
  
"You know, the Persuasion card." Kent said to her.  
  
"Well, I just have to break them apart. And think of it in this way. Now you can go with Sakura, while I go with Syaoran. We are breaking them apart."  
  
"I don't think it'll be as easy as that." Kent mumbled to himself.  
  
"Oh no dear cousin, it won't. But it's a start, so let's go." *~*~*~* How could he? I though maybe we would be getting closer, but now he's taking Leisa?  
  
"Sakura, wait up!" Sakura heard Meilin's voice behind her. She ran even faster, not wishing to be seen by anyone. Meilin caught up to her though.  
  
"What do you want?" Sakura said bitterly to her.  
  
"Hey, I'm trying to help here. I know that you wanted to go with Syaoran, but I don't think that he's been himself lately. I know Leisa wasn't the best choice, but look at it this way. It's only one dance. You guys have been through way too much for this one dance to break it all apart."  
  
"Thanks Meilin-chan." Sakura said, smiling a bit now.  
  
"No problem. Now, someone's getting a big lecture when I get home. I'm going to get to the bottom of this. So don't you worry."  
  
"Hey, Meilin-chan, you guys were engaged forever! Aren't you mad that at all about how.well, you know, how Syaoran and me are."  
  
"Oh Sakura, of course not. Syaoran and I are close; we've been that way since we were little kids. But that's all that there is for us. We can't be anymore than that. I regret it sometimes, but I know that I can get a lot more out of both of our friendships, than from being with Syaoran. Don't worry."  
  
"Thanks." Sakura said again. "I've gotta go now, see you later."  
  
Meilin waved to Sakura then headed off home too. *~*~*~* "OK, now why did you say yes to her?" Meilin asked Syaoran, dangerously close to exploding in impatience.  
  
"I DON'T KNOW!" Syaoran yelled back. "I don't even remember her asking me. All I said was yes, how bad is that?"  
  
"Someone heard you, and that was bad enough! Plus, now you're going to the dance with a B****!" Meilin screamed.  
  
"Yeah, so what if I'm going with her?" Syaoran asked Meilin with such calmness that she slapped him again. She was the only one ever allowed to do that, since Syaoran knew that she never did it without a good reason. "What was that for?"  
  
"Hey, I didn't give you up so you could go trashing around with some asshole like Leisa!" Meilin screamed at Syaoran.  
  
"Why does everyone always gang up on me? It's only a dance, and I DON'T like her."  
  
"Then why did you say yes?" Meilin asked.  
  
"I DON'T KNOW!" Syaoran yelled.  
  
And so it went like that until both of their voices were gone from screaming so loudly. *~*~*~* "Hoe!" Sakura groaned. Her head was spinning from all of the exercises that they had just done in cheerleading. She collapsed on the grass, tired.  
  
"Great job Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo congratulated. "You are guys are going to be great for the parade."  
  
"Arigato Tomoyo-chan."  
  
"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Kent ran up breathlessly.  
  
"Hi Kent-kun," she replied.  
  
"Do you want to come to the Homecoming Dance with me?" He asked quietly.  
  
"Umm.sure," she replied. Why shouldn't she go? Syaoran was going with Leisa, so she could go with whoever she wanted to.  
  
"Great! I'll pick you up at around seven then, ok?"  
  
"Sure," Sakura replied.  
  
"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said warningly once Kent was gone. "Why are you going with him?"  
  
"Why shouldn't I? Syaoran-kun is going with Leisa."  
  
Tomoyo's violet eyes widened. "He is?"  
  
"Yeah." Sakura said.  
  
Meilin joined them. She knew about the secret, but she couldn't bring herself to tell Sakura about it. She pulled Tomoyo aside.  
  
"I don't know why Syaoran is going with Leisa, but it doesn't sound to me like he had a choice. He doesn't even remember saying yes to her. He totally denies having ever even hearing her ask him. So I think maybe a card, though I bet Syaoran should have noticed the force. I don't know, but Syaoran told me that he didn't like Leisa, so Sakura still had a chance."  
  
"Wow, Li-kun told you all of that willingly?"  
  
Meilin blushed. "Well, not all of it."  
  
"Oh ho ho." Tomoyo grinned. "So, who are you going to the Homecoming dance with?"  
  
"Me?" Meilin pointed to herself. I don't know. No one? I really don't think that I'm attracted to anyone in our school."  
  
"OK. So, Chiharu and Yamazaki, Michael and Naoko, Rika is really glad that Terada sensei is chaperoning, so that's why she's coming, Sakura and Syao.I mean Kent, and Syaoran and Leisa are going together."  
  
"And you and Eriol, and that makes everyone happily matched up."  
  
"Except for you Meilin-chan." Tomoyo pointed out.  
  
"Oh, well, I'll just stay at home." Meilin said happily.  
  
"Home? No way! You've gotta come with us. With or without a date." Tomoyo dragged her to her home, eager to make another outfit. *~*~*~* "Homecoming's tonight!" Meilin squealed to Syaoran. The dress that Tomoyo had made her was a plain blood red with spaghetti straps. It enhanced Meilin's eyes, and even Syaoran was convinced that Meilin looked beautiful. She had cut her long black hair to shoulder length, and she was toying with ways to put it up.  
  
"Hey, keep it half up and half down." Syaoran told her.  
  
"Gotcha." Meilin said. "Hey, it does look good like this. Thanks Syaoran."  
  
"Do I really have to dress up?" he asked as he fished through his closet.  
  
"Yeah." Meilin said. "Here, I like this shirt, and these pants go great with it. Here's your outfit."  
  
Syaoran returned a few minutes later, wearing a forest green colored collar shirt with a pair of khakis.  
  
"Hanyaan, you look so kawaii!" Meilin told him.  
  
"I know." Syaoran said, oh so modestly.  
  
Laughing, Meilin grabbed his arm. "OK, I'm ready to go now."  
  
"Wait a minute, who's your date?" Syaoran asked Meilin pensively.  
  
"Huh? Date? Yeah, like I'm ever going to like anyone from this school."  
  
"OK. But Meilin, I wish that you could actually trust me sometimes."  
  
Meilin turned her face away from him suddenly, blocking all signs of her emotions. "I do Syaoran." Turning back, she grinned suddenly. "And why can't you trust me? I know that you like Sakura, so why didn't you ask her? Huh?"  
  
Syaoran didn't answer her, and jumped into his navy blue Jeep to pick up Leisa, face blushing like crazy. *~*~*~* "HOE!" Sakura screamed. "The dance is in 20 minutes, and I'm late!" The doorbell rang.  
  
"AHH! It's Kent-kun. Hoe." Sakura quickly slipped into an elegant spring green dress. She slipped her hair into a simple but elegant bun with a forest green ribbon and ran down the stairs to meet Kent.  
  
"Wow, Sakura-chan, you look lovely tonight!" Kent told her.  
  
She blushed. How did she really feel about Kent? He was a nice and cute too, but.she hesitated. She didn't know if she really liked him.  
  
"Let's go, Sakura-chan." Kent told her. *~*~*~* As Sakura and Kent entered the room together, Syaoran headed over to them. Leisa had been grumbling since Syaoran had picked her up with Meilin. Leisa had wanted time all to herself with her 'cuddly little wolf.'  
  
"Syaoran-kun." Sakura exclaimed in surprise as she saw him approach her.  
  
"Hey, you look really pretty tonight." He complimented her.  
  
"Thanks, you have a cool outfit too." She said.  
  
Syaoran blushed. He didn't mention the fact that Meilin had helped him pick it out, but he didn't have to.  
  
"Yeah, it's only cuz I picked it out for him!" Meilin yelled as she came running in.  
  
"Oh ho ho" Tomoyo laughed as she entered the group. "Nice outfit Sakura- chan, I'm going to have a great time videotaping today." Sakura groaned.  
  
Eriol had come with Tomoyo. Rika, Chiharu, and Yamazaki joined the group too, and they all hung out together. The football game had been a great success, with Tomoeda High defeating the opposing team: 28-7.  
  
"Hey, Syaoran, dance with me!" Leisa said as a slow song came on. Syaoran shrugged to Sakura as Leisa pulled him onto the floor.  
  
"Wanna dance?" Kent asked Sakura. She nodded slowly, and she knew that Tomoyo would have all of her moments on tape.  
  
"Hanyaan, this is sooooo kawaii!" Tomoyo sighed to Eriol. "The protagonist, obviously Sakura in here, is being torn between her affections for her two antagonists. Which one will get her?"  
  
Eriol sweat dropped as Tomoyo was drawn into oblivious bliss while she videotaped Sakura.  
  
"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Hiyoshi greeted her.  
  
"Hey, Hiyoshi-kun, I haven't seen you in awhile. What's been going on? Who're you here with?" Sakura asked him. The slow dance had been over. She had seen Syaoran and Leisa dancing, and it had cut deep into her heart. She had no idea what the image of her and Kent dancing together had done to Syaoran.  
  
"No one actually."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Yeah, this is a lot of fun, isn't it." Hiyoshi said.  
  
"Hey, do you want to go outside? It's getting really hot in here, and I want to learn more about you." Sakura said to him.  
  
"And you really think that I'm going to tell you everything about me just like that?" Hiyoshi asked her, raising his eyebrows.  
  
"Yes." Sakura said firmly. "Cuz I see all of that pain in your eyes Hiyoshi, and I know that it'll do you a lot of good to get it out."  
  
Hiyoshi stared at her in surprise. Did he really let the pain go to his eyes? How could Sakura see that?  
  
"Alright," he said slowly. Sakura excused herself, and followed Hiyoshi out into the night sky.  
  
Silently, Syaoran followed them out too.  
  
Damn! Why can't she just stay with one guy? Does she seriously not like me? What's up with her trying to make me jealous? Why is she going out with Hiyoshi now?  
  
"BAKA!" he screamed out as the door slammed in his face. He had been watching Hiyoshi's hand on Sakura to notice anything else.  
  
"Cousin, what should we do?" Leisa asked Kent.  
  
He grinned. "Give them some time to themselves, and then let's send a force out."  
  
Luckily for Sakura and Hiyoshi, Tomoyo didn't see them slip out, so she spent the rest of the night looking for them.  
  
Hiyoshi and Sakura headed for the park, and then settled down on a bench. Sakura stared at Hiyoshi, waiting for him to begin.  
  
"Stop." Hiyoshi said.  
  
"Hoe, what am I doing?" Sakura asked him.  
  
"Stop staring at me."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Cuz I can't concentrate."  
  
"Sheesh, how can he not concentrate?" Sakura said as she averted her gaze.  
  
"OK," Hiyoshi took a deep breath. "Like, how do I start?"  
  
"Where did you come from ,like where did you spend your childhood, your siblings."  
  
"Well, I don't know if you know this yet, but I'm really from Taiwan, like Leisa and Kent, but I don't know where they're from. I was born in Taipei in the district of Jingmei. I had an elder brother and a younger sister, so I was in the middle. I was always better that Hiyaki, my brother, at everything, and it wasn't even my fault. I was more popular than him, better at sports, got better grades. I know that he was always jealous of me, but we were still close friends. One day, when I was in seventh grade, he was killed in a car accident."  
  
Sakura gasped, and was about to say something, but then she stopped.  
  
~It's easier to let it all out without interruptions.~  
  
~Syaoran?~  
  
~Yeah.~  
  
~How the heck are you talking to me in my head?~  
  
~Tell you later, concentrate on Hiyoshi now~  
  
"I was devastated. I couldn't believe that he would leave me alone like this. I had to comfort my younger sister, Hiyamei, who was also really close to my brother too. I was stunned by his death, but I got over it. I learned to live without my aniki, and went on with life. Eight grade rolled around, and then my parents suddenly died too. They were on a vacation for their anniversary and on their way back, their plane was caught in a bad storm, and they all died. Once again, I was left by myself with my little sis, Hiyamei. No one knew anything about how we were living by ourselves, but I knew people would soon find out. Hiyamei and I were fine by ourselves, but then word leaked out that we had been living by ourselves. I knew that childcare people would soon be coming to get us, and I didn't want that to happen. Miraculously, a relative of ours, who we never even knew existed, Kimi Haru came and rescued us. He taught me about my powers and then introduced me to Eriol last year. The only bad thing was that I lost Hiyamei somewhere. I don't even remember, which is really sad." Hiyoshi's eyes filled with tears. "All I know is that I couldn't find her when I went back to my house when day. I looked everywhere for her, and Haru helped too, but we couldn't find her. All of my family is gone now, 'cept for me. All that I have left of them is a picture and this locket."  
  
Hiyoshi took out a picture of him, and a group of four other people crowded around him. The mother and father both had bright smiles and brown hair. The mother had gray eyes, and the father had bright blue eyes. Next to Hiyoshi was a tall kid with twinkling blue eyes and spiked up brown hair.  
  
Sitting on Hiyoshi's lap was a small petite girl with short brown hair and blue eyes. She looked cute and innocent in the picture. The locket was gold in the shape of an oval. It had a rose incarved intricately on the top layer and had a picture of both of his siblings on each side.  
  
"Wow, Hiyoshi-kun, I'm really sorry that I never knew about any of this. I know how hard it is to lose someone close to you, and you lost everyone. I can't believe that you haven't collapsed yet."  
  
"You have no idea how many times I almost have." Hiyoshi said, looking deep into Sakura's eyes. She saw pain and anger reflected in them.  
  
"I even burnt down my old home, I was so mad back then and I had no idea that I had powers, so obviously I had no idea what to do with them."  
  
"Oh, Hiyoshi." Sakura said. "I really hope that you can start a new life here, with us." She said to him softly.  
  
"Me too." Hiyoshi said.  
  
Impulsively, Sakura hugged Hiyoshi. "Hey, I hope that we can become close friends, and if you ever have any troubles, come to me."  
  
"And me."  
  
"Hoe!" Sakura jumped, even though she had already felt Syaoran's presence near them.  
  
"I'm sorry for eavesdropping, but Hiyoshi, like you, I have experienced many deaths in my family. My father died when I was young, and my cousin Chensen, who I looked up to after my father died, also passed away a few years ago. I have lost many people in my life too, and Sakura's mother died when she was young also. We know what you're going through, so if you ever need anyone, we'll be here for you." Syaoran said solemnly.  
  
"Thanks." Hiyoshi said softly. "I never had anyone to lean on before, Haru was always out, busy with work and business trips. His servants were uncaring for me, so all I did was roam around. I hope.Thanks," he said again.  
  
"Don't mention it," Sakura said.  
  
Suddenly, the ground beneath them shook. "Uh oh." Sakura said. "Now what?"  
  
"A force!" Syaoran shouted.  
  
"Oops, I made all of ya guys too occupied, and none of us noticed the force coming up." Hiyoshi said.  
  
"It's not your fault." Sakura replied, as she concentrated on the force. "But what type of force is it?"  
  
"No idea." Syaoran replied.  
  
"The ground's shaking, earthquake? Or something like that." Hiyoshi guessed.  
  
"Maybe."  
  
Suddenly, the floor underneath them started cracking.  
  
"Earthquake!" Sakura yelled. She lost her balance, and as the crack split open, started to fall in. She screamed out loud.  
  
"SYAORAN!!!!!!!!!"  
  
"SAKURA!" he screamed back to her. Reaching out, he grabbed her hand tightly, right before she fell in.  
  
"God! Sakura, you scared the crap out of me! Don't ever do that again!" Syaoran screamed at her.  
  
Shrugging, she released her staff.  
  
"Spirit of the dark forces, come out! I, Hiyoshi command you!" he yelled out, raising the blue wand in his hand.  
  
"No fair, why don't I get a staff?" Syaoran grumbled to himself. Sakura grinned at Hiyoshi, then stumbled as the ground shook again.  
  
Hiyoshi caught her arm, and the three of them, Sakura, Syaoran, and Hiyoshi stood up to face the force together.  
  
"Ice, freeze the earth!" Sakura commanded, hoping that it would work.  
  
As the ice spread out along the grass and into the earth, the ground stopped shaking. A petite pixie flew out of a crevice, looking around, confused.  
  
"Alright, let's get it!" Hiyoshi yelled. Then suddenly, the earthquake broke through the ice, and the ground shook with even more force than usual. Screams pierced the night.  
  
Sakura shook her long golden brown hair out of her eyes. "Darn, I've gotta think of something else. Hiyoshi!"  
  
Hiyoshi had been hit with something that the pixie had thrown out, and he was on the ground shaking uncontrollably.  
  
"It's up to you Sakura!" Syaoran told her grimly. "I know that you can do it!"  
  
"I need to get the pixie out here again. "Windy, blow into the crevices, and get that pixie out here." Sakura yelled. She hope desperately that the pixie hadn't disappeared yet.  
  
Suddenly, over the top of the deep canyon came a ball of spinning colors. It stopped over Sakura's head, and she could see the light pixie.  
  
"Spirit of the dark forces, return to the form by contract, I Sakura, command you!"  
  
Sighing, Sakura collapsed on the ground. The Earthquake card had been the most destructive one yet. Now she still had to go out to erase memories.  
  
"Hanyaan, too bad Sakura-chan wasn't in a costume!" Sakura sweat dropped as she saw Tomoyo appear with Eriol behind her.  
  
"Oh, Hiyoshi-kun, are you ok?" Sakura asked him concerned.  
  
"Yeah. I think that she sent a wave of power into me, that my body couldn't handle, so it just started to give up."  
  
"Well, I'm glad you're good."  
  
"C'mon, we need to celebrate!"  
  
"FOOD, FOOD. FOOD!" Kero exclaimed.  
  
"Hoe, where does everyone appear from?" Sakura asked herself.  
  
"I'm here too!" Suppi yelled.  
  
"What about Yue?"  
  
"He's outta town for a bit, and Touya's joining him too, in England, remember?" Eriol informed her.  
  
"Oh." Sakura replied.  
  
"Oh, look, the dance's over, and we both ditched our partners." Syaoran told Sakura as the walked home. He was escorting her to her house.  
  
Eriol, Suppi, and Hiyoshi were all staying at Tomoyo's house. Kero had already gone home, leaving the two of them by themselves.  
  
"Why did you go with Leisa-chan?" Sakura asked Syaoran suddenly.  
  
"Eh? Why did you go with Kent-kun?" he retorted.  
  
"Cuz you were going with her."  
  
"Eh...I don't even remember saying yes or her asking me." Syaoran said quietly. "Why does everyone bother me about that. No one ever believes in me."  
  
"I do." Sakura said softly. Syaoran turned to face her. Her emerald eyes faced away from him, though he could still see the reflections in them.  
  
"If I didn't, then where would I be now?"  
  
"Thanks Sakura." Syaoran said. "I hope that I can come to you as a friend, and talk to you about my troubles too."  
  
"Of course you can." Sakura told him pleasantly as they continued on their way home.  
  
But is that all you ever want me to be, a friend?  
  
No Sakura, I want you as something much more, something that I can have forever, and it's right in my grasp, yet I don't want to reach out to take it, because it might break and fade away, forever. OK, I hope it isn't too long. I like this chapter myself, personally. Reviews comments, what I did bad in here (and maybe good?) S+S in the end, and I feel so bad for Hiyoshi now, don't you? R+R please. ~Ruby 


	6. Lies, Accidents, Deaths

AN- yeah yeah, I know that it's not Christmas yet, but it's funn to get in the mood.just bear with it.  
  
Chapter 6- Lies, Accidents, Deaths "Are you sad that the Little Wolf left you by yourself?" Kent asked Leisa.  
  
"Nah, who cares about him? He was occupied though." Leisa replied, flipping her glossy hair back.  
  
"I know."  
  
"Yeah, whoever knew that they would actually capture the Earthquake?"  
  
"Who are you sending out next?" Kent asked Leisa.  
  
"I don't know. I'm going at random, this was a test of their skill, but I will use easier cards on them to weaken them. Then, when the cards like Pride, Betrayal, and Love, or Hate turn up, they will be too weak to resist us."  
  
"Alright." Kent nodded. *~*~*~* "Hoe!" Sakura moaned as she woke up and turned off her buzzing alarm clock. She rubbed her emerald eyes sleepily; She was still tired, and not ready to wake up yet. Suddenly, she sat up. Today was the first day of December. Sakura ran excitedly to the window expecting to see snow.  
  
Her face fell as she saw the crisp leaves lying on the ground without a soft, white blanket to cover them.  
  
Well, at least it's time to shop for Christmas presents. She thought to herself. She got dressed fast, and then ran downstairs for breakfast. Kero was still sleeping, so she decided not to wake him up.  
  
"Good morning otou-san, onii-chan." Sakura said cheerfully as she greeted them.  
  
"Good morning Sakura." Her father replied.  
  
"Hey, glad to see that you actually got up by yourself this morning, kaijou." Touya remarked coolly as he sipped his coffee.  
  
Sakura's face grew red as she tried to think of a comment to retort back to him. The mood was broken by the sound of the phone ringing.  
  
Fujitaka quickly picked up the phone. "Sakura, it's Tomoyo-chan." He called to her,  
  
"Arigato otou-san." Sakura said as she picked up the phone.  
  
"Sakura-chan!!!" Tomoyo screamed ecstatically. "It's December, and the Christmas play is coming up. You've got to try out!!"  
  
Sakura groaned inwardly. "Tomoyo-chan, I don't have any talents. How am I ever gonna get a part. It'd be a waste of your time, and mine. Why bother?"  
  
"You have talents, and good ones too. And you are going to try out whether you like it or not."  
  
"OK, Whatever you say." Sakura said submissively. "See you later." Tomoyo ended.  
  
"Bye." Sakura said. Sighing, she hung up and headed upstairs to her room to write a list of people she needed to buy presents for.  
  
"Let's see: Onii-chan, Otou-san, Tomoyo-chan, Rika-chan, Naoko-chan, Chiharu-chan, Yamazaki-kun, Eriol-kun, I guess Syaoran should get one too. Hmm. Kale-kun, Leisa-chan, Yukito-san, Kero-chan, Hiyoshi-kun." Sakura went through her entire list.  
  
"Hoe!" She cried when she finished. "It's a good thing I still have the money from the contest." She fished through her drawers to look for some more money to buy her presents with. She pulled out some crumpled up money, and stuffed it into her purse.  
  
Then she noticed that Kero-chan was still sleeping. "Kero-chan!" She screamed.  
  
"Huh? What what, where's the card, huh? What?" Kero shouted as he woke up.  
  
Sakura giggled. "I just thought that maybe you would want to wake up. It's already." Sakura checked her clock. "About one o'clock. Aren't you hungry?"  
  
"Ooh! Food. Gimme!" Kero shouted greedily.  
  
Sakura sighed. She headed downstairs.  
  
"Otou-san just went out for another conference" Touya informed Sakura.  
  
"OK." She replied. She reached into the refrigerator to grab some leftover pudding for Kero.  
  
"Hey, what are you doing?" Touya asked her suspiciously.  
  
"Oh, umm.I'm hungry, so I decided to grab a snack." Sakura said as she staggered upstairs with a ton of food.  
  
Touya raised his eyebrows at her. "Whoa, you keep eating like that and you'll end up as fat as a real kaijou." He told Sakura.  
  
The doorbell rang, and Sakura ran to answer it. She left all of her food on the stairs.  
  
"Yuki!" She exclaimed happily.  
  
"Hey Sakura." Yuki replied. "How are you?"  
  
"Fine, thank you." Sakura replied.  
  
"Hey, Touya, do you want to go out for a while?" Yuki shouted to Touya.  
  
"Sure." Touya answered. "Sakura, can you stay at home by yourself?"  
  
"Yeah," Sakura said. "I am capable of taking care of myself. Gosh, it's not like I haven't grown. I'm sixteen now, old enough!" She stomped upstairs to her room.  
  
"Geez." Touya said as he hopped on his bike. He locked the door, and then rode off with Yuki.  
  
"Finally!" Kero shouted as Sakura stumbled into the room with the food. He grabbed it away from her and started munching on it immediately. The PS2 was already turned on and Kero had a game in progress.  
  
Sakura dialed Tomoyo's number. She wanted to go shopping for presents with her, and also find out more about the play. "Tomoyo-chan, will you come shopping with presents with me?" Sakura asked her.  
  
"Oh, Sakura-chan, today is the worst day to ask me." Tomoyo said regretfully. "My mom is taking me to go pick out a Christmas tree with her."  
  
"Oh, that's ok. I know how you never get to go out with her a lot. Maybe next week." Sakura suggested. "We can go shopping with the whole gang!"  
  
"Yeah, that will be so fun!" Tomoyo said gratefully to Sakura. "No problem." Sakura said.  
  
"Hey, what are you going to get Li-kun for Christmas?" Tomoyo added slyly.  
  
"What? Whoever said that I was going to get him a present?"  
  
"Oh, never mind. But what do I get Eriol-kun?" Tomoyo wailed to Sakura. "I've got absolutely no ideas!"  
  
"Umm. Something will come up." Sakura said helpfully.  
  
"Oh, thanks Sakura-chan." Tomoyo sighed.  
  
"So, when are we supposed to audition for the Christmas play?" Sakura asked Tomoyo.  
  
"The sign-ups start tomorrow, and the auditions start on Tuesday." Tomoyo answered Sakura. "I can sign you guys up." Oops, I didn't mean to let that slip. Tomoyo thought to herself. Hopefully Sakura hadn't heard. Unfortunately, that wish was not fulfilled.  
  
"What do you mean by 'you guys?' Who else is auditioning? Tell me Tomoyo- chan." Sakura demanded.  
  
"Oh, you know. Just Chiharu-chan, Rika-chan, Yamazaki-kun, Eriol-kun, Leisa- chan, and Michael-kun." And Li-kun, Tomoyo added silently to herself.  
  
"Good! For a moment there, I had the most horrible vision of Syaoran-kun as the co-star with me. Oh, I'd be so embarrassed! Good thing that it'll never happen." Sakura said.  
  
"Oh no, of course not." Tomoyo said, But that's exactly what I've got planned, and if I can convince Li-kun to audition, then it'll be so perfect.  
  
"So what's the play about anyway?" Sakura asked Tomoyo.  
  
"Oh. The play's called Angel of Light. It's about how angel up above in heaven is tired of being all god and holy. Plus she's fallen in love with a human down on earth. God gives her a chance to come down and see how she likes living on earth. It's a bit of a mix between The Little Mermaid and City of Angels. Plus at the end they both commit suicides over themselves, so it's also got some Romeo and Juliet mixed in.  
  
It's gonna be really good. And another mix, Riley, the guy down on earth is in love with a huge jerk. But she also likes Riley a lot! And she flirts with him like crazy! Then she beats up any girl who shows an interest in him. But at the end Riley realizes that she's not the one for him, and she realizes the same thing about him. And Riley and Gina, who's the angel from Heaven, end up together in Heaven. It's really sweet. The mean girl's name is Yuri. I wonder who'll get that part, Riley's best friend Taikisha ends up with her, I think. You'd be so perfect for the angel though. Gina, that part is so perfect for you. And Chiharu can play your best friend who is an angel too, Shinhwa, they are best friends, and Shinhwa is really sad when Gina goes down to earth. There are actually a lot of different characters in it."  
  
"But you'd be so much better for that part than Chiharu, I mean, I'm good friends with her too, but I'm so much closer to you." Sakura protested to Tomoyo.  
  
"Yeah, but I'm already the director of the play.  
  
"Well, it sounds really cool!" Sakura said excitedly. "I can't wait to try out.  
  
"Yeah, and I get to help pick out the characters, like who plays the parts and everything. It's going to be so much fun!" Sakura exclaimed as she twirled around her room delightedly.  
  
"Hey, watch it!" Kero exclaimed angrily. "Oh, look! I just lost again because of you! Baka!"  
  
"Gomen ne Kero-chan." Sakura said.  
  
"Yeah, you'd be great as the angel. You'd have to memorize a lot of lines though. But it's a good thing that we don't have to pick out names for our parts this time."  
  
Sakura giggled as she remembered. Way back in fourth grade, their class had put on Sleeping Beauty for a play. They had to choose roles out of a hat, and she was the prince, and Syaoran had been the princess. That had been a great play though.  
  
Sakura sighed. She missed the times when she and Syaoran had been closer than now, when they had actually been friends. He was so cold to her now. She didn't know why either. Why was he being so closed to her, why was he so mean? Why?  
  
"Sakura-chan, are you still there?" Tomoyo-s melodic voice cut through Sakura's thoughts. "Well, I've got to go now. My mother wants us to get an early start so that we can get home on time tomorrow. So, see you on Monday. Bye."  
  
"Bye." Sakura replied as she hung up the phone. *~*~*~* Li Syaoran was bored out of his mind. He felt like kicking something really hard. His friend Daidouji Tomoyo had called him awhile ago about some stupid play that was coming up. She wanted him to audition for it. Syaoran didn't really want to. He was still considering it.  
  
He knew that Sakura would probably try out, and he knew that Michael would never miss an opportunity like this play to show off. Sakura was sure to get a big part and so was Michael. Syaoran would kill himself before he ever let them act together as costars though.  
  
Meilin was bursting with excitement. She was prancing around the room all dressed in white humming churchish songs.  
  
Syaoran sighed to himself. He wondered if he would land a part. He knew that he probably wouldn't, but would it hurt to try? He was in competition with Michael for a lot of things, especially soccer. Michael was always really pushy. He showed off way too much!  
  
But the way Tomoyo had put it, Michael and Naoko were unofficially a couple, so the only person Syaoran was worried about now was Kent. And he was a bit concerned about how Hiyoshi liked to flash smiles at Sakura all the time, but Kent was his main concern.  
  
"Why are you so sad?" Meilin asked Syaoran. She noticed something wrong with him.  
  
"Oh, I'm not sad. Why would you think that I'm sad?" Syaoran denied unconvincingly.  
  
"Excuse me mister, but I didn't come here to cheer you up. Plus, I grew up with you. I've known you for my entire life. It's not like I wouldn't miss a simple thing like this. So c'mon. What's wrong?"  
  
"I'm worried about the play. That's all."  
  
"Is. it something about Sakura-chan?" Meilin asked 'innocently.' Meilin was over Syaoran already. Plus, she was engaged to another cousin in Hong Kong too, Li Senjin. Now she and Syaoran were totally open about everything to each other. Well, almost everything.  
  
"Of course not!" Syaoran replied hotly blushing fiercely.  
  
"Hmm." Meilin smiled. "Are you worried that someone, like Kent-kun will land the lead and costar with Sakura-chan?"  
  
"NO!" Syaoran declared. He stared defiantly out the window, refusing to meet Meilin's eyes.  
  
"Well, I know that you'll get a part." Meilin said encouragingly. She wrapped an arm comfortingly around Syaoran's shoulder.  
  
"Thanks Meilin." Syaoran said gratefully. "And I mean for everything. Especially for convincing those Evil Elders to let me stay here. At least until high school is over. I know that it must have been really hard,"  
  
Meilin grinned. "Not if you didn't do anything. Aunt Ieran was the only one. She basically did all the work. All I did was present it. Your sisters helped some too, though mostly they were really busy with their own lives."  
  
Syaoran rolled his eyes. He remembered how he had trained so hard with Chensen to come to Japan. Chensen had died right after Syaoran had returned home after fourth grade from a mysterious illness, actually a cancer. After that, Syaoran had been silent, never talking to anyone at all. He remained like that for two years. It had taken all of Meilin's persuasion to have him return to life. Plus the fact that there was a new force out, which might be dangerous to everyone, including Sakura.  
  
He didn't know if he still loved her, but he knew that he would protect her whatever happened. He had completely lost his emotions while he had closed himself up. Meilin had worked relentlessly to help him bring them back out. He was utterly grateful to her. He knew that he should have been the one comforting Meilin since it was her brother who had died, but it was the other way around. Meilin had been eerily calm about the whole thing, even though Syaoran still saw her silently crying sometimes, and he knew that she was thinking about Chensen. He was quietly stand by her, comforting and supporting without any words.  
  
Now no one knew or remembered anything about when Syaoran was silent. He had sneaked the Erase card away from Sakura and erased the memories of all of his relatives, except for Meilin.  
  
Now he was ready to go on with life, even though he knew that he would never forget about Chensen.  
  
Syaoran was really glad that he had been given permission to come here to collect the cards. Without that, he would never have met Sakura. He had trained many months with his patient cousin Chensen to finally convince the Elders that he was capable of going. And then he had had to pass the test.  
  
But ever since Chensen had died, Syaoran knew that he had changed. Chensen had been everything to him, more than just a cousin or trainer; he had been his father and brother. Syaoran had looked up to him for everything. *~*~*~* Sakura was bursting with impatience. School still hadn't started yet, and she was anxious to find out more about the play. And the sign-ups still wouldn't begin until after school. As she scanned the schoolyard, she noticed Kent staring at her.  
  
He smiled slightly at Sakura.  
  
"Sakura-chan!" Leisa's voice cut through the air.  
  
Sakura turned around. "Hi Leisa-chan." She remarked politely.  
  
"Did ya hear about the play?" Leisa asked Sakura excitedly.  
  
"Yup." Sakura turned back to scan for Kent again. Surprisingly, he had disappeared.  
  
"Huh?" She asked herself quietly. "He was there a second ago." "So, are ya going to try out?" Leisa asked Sakura.  
  
"Yeah." Sakura murmured.  
  
"So am I." Leisa announced importantly.  
  
"Cool. Good luck." Sakura told Leisa.  
  
"Ooh! It's Syaoran-kun," Leisa ran off to flirt with him. Sakura felt a twinge of loneliness as Leisa flung herself onto Syaoran. His face screamed out a panic signal to Sakura. Sakura grinned at him as she walked by.  
  
"So, Syaoran-kun, did ya hear about the Christmas play? Are ya gonna try out? I want to be the angel. You'd be perfect as Riley! You'd better try out!" Leisa was speaking so loudly the entire school could hear her.  
  
Probably the entire world too. Sakura thought to herself.  
  
"Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo's voice sounded right next to Sakura.  
  
"Hoe!" Sakura shouted. "Whoa, You scared me."  
  
"Sorry." Tomoyo apologized.  
  
"C'mon, class is starting." Tomoyo gestured towards the front door. Everyone was filing in.  
  
"Good morning class." The teacher said in a monotonous tone.  
  
"Good morning Sensei." The class replied in the same tone.  
  
Sakura wondered what drew every new student's attention to her. She flashed a grin back. Syaoran had felt her powers, and Eriol had known that she was the Card Captor Mistress. Leisa had also suddenly developed an interest in her when they had first met. That was a funny one. Sakura had no idea why of course.  
  
"Alright, Han-sama, you are going to need a lot of help, since you have just joined the school. Your cousin seems to be doing well, but you. Well anyway, Kinomoto-sama looks like she's sitting the nearest to you, so I assign you to her. Kinomoto-sama, help him out with any problems.  
  
Kent grinned at her.  
  
"Wow, Sakura-chan, you are really smart!" Kent complimented her as she finished explaining yet another sheet to him. She blushed under his gaze and behind them, Syaoran's face turned a pale white, since he had run out of red to color his face with. LOL  
  
"No, of course I'm not. This is just really easy because we already learned it. I'm really horrible at math."  
  
"Oh, but I bet your brother could help you with that." Kent mentally slapped himself. He shouldn't have said anything. Now Sakura would know that something was up.  
  
"Hoe?" Sakura asked him surprised as her green eyes stared into his gray ones.  
  
"Never mind." Kent brushed it off. The recess bell rang dismissing them from class.  
  
As Sakura collected her things, she felt a hand tap her shoulder. "Yea?" She asked as she lifted her stuff up.  
  
"Well, I was wondering if you could give me a hand with the work in school this afternoon." Kent asked her.  
  
"Oh, I'm really sorry Kent, but I have to stay after school to sign up for a Christmas play that I'm going to try out for." Sakura apologized.  
  
"Well, that's ok." Kent said, "Good luck on your performance."  
  
"Thanks." Sakura said after him.  
  
"Ooh, Sakura-chan, you've got another guy after you." Tomoyo said as they walked outside for gym. The air was chilly, but warm enough so that they weren't freezing, and that the gym teacher would order them outside.  
  
"What, huh, who?" Sakura asked unwittingly.  
  
"Duh, Han-kun!" Tomoyo said rolling her eyes. "Wow, the marvelous antagonist is being rivaled against a new foe, who is utterly handsome also. The beautiful star is struggling against her real inside emotions and deciding who she really loves! Wow! It's a great movie idea!"  
  
"Hoe! Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura complained.  
  
"But hey, he really likes you."  
  
"Oh I don't think so." Sakura said, "He's just trying to make some friends. I would too if I had just moved to a new school."  
  
"Whatever you say." Tomoyo said. "But he's going really far. And I know a certain guy who was going crazy because of the attention that Han-kun was pouring on you."  
  
"Sakura-chan!" Syaoran yelled. "Are you going try out for the Christmas play, Angel of Light?"  
  
"Of course." Sakura replied.  
  
Syaoran said. "Tomoyo-chan told me about it too. Meilin is really excited." Syaoran pointed across the sports field where Meilin was once again dancing delicately like an angel. "I might audition."  
  
"You are? Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura turned around to glare at Tomoyo, but she had already escaped to the protection of Rika, Chiharu, and Yamazaki.  
  
"Yeah, and I was wondering if you would like.want to.would you ever.well, would you tryout with me?" Syaoran stammered. "Only because there's no one else that I really want to tryout with, 'cept Meilin and she's already with someone else." Actually, Tomoyo had hinted to Syaoran that Sakura was looking for someone to try out with, and they would make a great team.  
  
"Sure." Sakura replied in such an offhand manner that Syaoran was disappointed.  
  
"If you don't want to try out with me, you don't have to." He said getting mad.  
  
"Oh, no, I do." Sakura replied in such an eager way that Syaoran's anger diminished.  
  
"OK." He said smiling at her gratefully.  
  
"So, what scene are we going to do?" Sakura asked Syaoran.  
  
"I don't know." Syaoran said to her.  
  
"Hey I can help you guys prepare." Tomoyo suddenly popped up again. "And since I've already looked at the script, I know the perfect scene." "OK, sure." Syaoran immediately agreed. Sakura was having second thoughts though.  
  
"Exactly which scene are we going to do Tomoyo?" She asked her suspiciously.  
  
"Oh, just the one where." The bell rang drowning out Tomoyo's words. ".Would be perfect for you guys." Tomoyo ended.  
  
"Wait, Tomoyo, I didn't hear you." Sakura cried out as everyone filed back inside the classroom.  
  
"I'll tell you later." Tomoyo whispered.  
  
"But."  
  
"Kinomoto-san, I suggest that you sit down before I send you down to the principal's office." The teacher reprimanded her in a stern voice. "Class has started." The teacher gestured towards Sakura's seat.  
  
The class tittered softly. Sakura felt her face grow red as she slowly walked to her seat. Syaoran didn't say any words, but she felt a surge of sympathy from him.  
  
Kent gave a smile of understanding too. She grinned at him. *~*~*~* "Wow!" Sakura gasped. She was standing in front of the sign-up sheet for the play after the meeting for the cast. The sheet was practically filled up. Michael, Leisa, Rika, Chiharu, Yamazaki, and Meilin had all signed up. Naoko had already helped out by writing the entire script. As she scanned the list, Sakura noticed a name that she had not expected to see on it.  
  
"Hey, I didn't know that Kent-kun would sign up." She mentioned to Tomoyo.  
  
"Well, I guess that he did."  
  
Sakura quickly out down her name and Syaoran's too.  
  
"I signed you up!" She shouted to Syaoran as he flashed her a questioning glance. He returned a quick smile as he walked away. He was going out for the soccer team. Sakura was rushing to cheer him on, since cheerleading practice had been cancelled.  
  
*~*~*~* Syaoran shook his head at Kent's reckless speed as he watched Kent dribble the ball down the field. Even he knew how much Kent was hogging the ball. He knew how you needed to have teamwork.  
  
"Whoo! Go Kent-kun!" All the girls on the field screamed.  
  
Gracefully, Syaoran ran down the field and snatched the ball away with his feet.  
  
He passed the ball to another teammate who neatly shot it into the goal.  
  
"Wow, go Syaoran-kun!" The girls yelled.  
  
Kent stared at the goal in disbelief.  
  
Syaoran passed by him, then stopped.  
  
"You are an excellent player Kent-kun, but you were too reckless. That's why it was so easy for me to steal the ball away from you." Syaoran said curtly.  
  
Kent stared after Syaoran with bitter anger. I never lose. He thought. Never. I will have me revenge Li, you can bet on it.  
  
"Too bad you lost." Leisa teased Kent. He whirled on her with fury.  
  
She grinned and stuck her tongue out as she ran away. *~*~*~* "Good job Syaoran-kun." Sakura complimented him as they walked home with Tomoyo.  
  
"Thanks," Syaoran replied, blushing slightly.  
  
"So Tomoyo, what was the scene that you wanted to have me to with Syaoran?" Sakura asked  
  
"Oh, well." Tomoyo pulled out three copies of the script and handed a copy to Sakura and one to Syaoran. "Here, it's on page 13, when Riley and Gina first meet. Gina is saying all of this stuff to Riley about him. Some of it surprises him because he doesn't even know about it. Riley is slowly falling in love with her."  
  
"WAIT!" Sakura screamed out loud as she flipped through the pages. "At the end of the scene, they KISS! I can't do that with Syaoran-kun!"  
  
Syaoran shook his head vigorously too. "No way Tomoyo-chan. No way in freakin' hell am I going to do that."  
  
"Well, I'm sure that it'll work out." Tomoyo said slyly. "And if you guys are sure that you don't want to do that together, I can always get Leisa or Kent to fill one of your places."  
  
Sakura stared right into Syaoran's amber eyes to see who he would rather want to work with. He showed no emotion to her.  
  
"Alright, I guess I can try to work this out." He said slowly.  
  
"Alright!" Tomoyo cheered.  
  
"Hoe!" Sakura groaned.  
  
"Wait a sec," Sakura told Syaoran as she pulled Tomoyo away. Syaoran watched them steadily as they disappeared from his view.  
  
Now what? He thought to himself.  
  
"Tomoyo-chan, I've got something to confess." Sakura said slowly and softly once Syaoran had disappeared from view.  
  
"Yes?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"Well." Sakura stopped.  
  
"Yeah?" Tomoyo asked getting impatient.  
  
"Well, I think that I like Syaoran-kun. A lot."  
  
"Uh-huh, is that it? Well, I've known that you've liked him for a while now. And that you tell me now! I'm so hurt." Tomoyo sniffed jokingly.  
  
"I'm sorry Tomoyo-chan, really!" Sakura protested. "I meant to tell you, 'cept, well. I thought that. I mean."  
  
"It's ok." Tomoyo said to Sakura. "Plus, I think that you guys make the most kawaii couple!"  
  
"Thanks Tomoyo-chan. Well, what do you think Santa will get you this year?"  
  
"Santa, you still believe in Santa?" Sakura heard a mocking voice behind her. It was Syaoran. Sakura trembled in anger.  
  
Oh no! I hope no one heard anything! I'd be so dead if someone did.  
  
"Hey, Syaoran-kun, you are so mean!" Rika said to him. She had appeared suddenly.  
  
"You know who Santa really is? He's actually an elf that ate way too much, and he is on a contract with a toy company and." Chiharu strangled Yamazaki.  
  
"Shut up!" She yelled for the billionth time.  
  
Meilin was walking slowly behind everyone wistfully. She knew that she would miss everyone here when she went back. Yes, she was returning to Hong Kong because she felt that she was absolutely no help here. Syaoran didn't need her, even though she had finished her training and Wei could come over.  
  
"So you guys, do you all want to go shopping for Christmas presents together tomorrow?" Tomoyo asked everyone.  
  
"Sure." Sakura answered. Meilin smiled and nodded. So did Yamazaki and Chiharu.  
  
"Oh, I'm really sorry, but I can't." Syaoran said regretfully.  
  
"Oh, you are such a party pooper." Sakura said to him teasingly. No one wondered where Syaoran was going besides Meilin. Where would he be going without telling her first? Meilin was hurt. * * * * * * * * * * "Hey, Syaoran-kun, wait up!" Tomoyo yelled breathlessly as she ran up to him.  
  
"Yeah?" He asked her.  
  
"Well, I was just wondering if you would ever consider Sakura your, well, girlfriend?" Tomoyo asked him slyly.  
  
"NO!" of course not!" Syaoran denied loudly.  
  
"Oh, OK." Tomoyo ran off before Syaoran could say anything else.  
  
"See, maybe Sakura does like you." Meilin popped in.  
  
"Meilin!" Syaoran threatened as his face turned bright red. She giggled as they walked home.  
  
The next day after school, Tomoyo ran breathlessly up to Sakura. "Hey, guess what?! I asked Syaoran-kun if he would go out with you!"  
  
"WHAT! Tomoyo-chan! How could you?" Sakura cried out tearfully. "I can't believe I actually trusted you with my darkest secret! Now I have absolutely no chance with him! And he probably hates me now and thinks that I'm a total loser and thinks that I actually told you to do that! Plus, I won't have anyone to do the scene with now!" Sakura turned around and ran away.  
  
Tears streamed down her face and she angrily brushed them away. They blinded her face, and she ran straight in to someone. Tears streamed down her face and she angrily brushed them away. They blinded her face, and she ran straight in to someone.  
  
"Whoa!" She cried out. The person grabbed her hand and steadied her on her feet.  
  
"Thanks." She mumbled.  
  
"No problem." She heard a deep voice say. She looked up. It was Kent. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked gently.  
  
"Yeah." She mumbled looking down again.  
  
"Are you sure?" Kent sounded very concerned.  
  
".No." Sakura sighed and took a deep breath.  
  
"Do you want to talk about it?" Kent probed gently.  
  
"No!" Sakura replied quickly.  
  
"OK. C'mon." Kent said as he saw tears well up in Sakura's eyes again in memory. He pulled Sakura closer to him.  
  
"Thanks." Sakura said as she leaned against him. They headed towards the park. *~*~*~* Syaoran whistled softly to himself as he walked through the street. He was looking for Sakura. He glanced down at his hands for the billionth time to make sure the flowers were still there. He had bought some peonies for Sakura. Syaoran had decided to get to know Sakura better.  
  
As he turned the corner to the park, he stopped. The bouquet slowly slipped from his fingers and dropped onto the ground. The sight he saw shocked him immensely.  
  
Sakura was leaning heavily against Kent. He had his hand firmly around Sakura's waist, and was supporting her. Kent slowly turned Sakura's face towards his gently.  
  
Syaoran couldn't take it anymore. He turned around and dashed off with anger growing in his heart. It was turning cold again. How could Sakura betray him like that? Especially with Kent? He thought that Sakura would've made a better choice than that, even if he hadn't been himself.  
  
Even Michael would've been better because he knew he could trust him not to treat Sakura badly. But Kent? When they didn't even know anything about him? When Syaoran could sense a bad aura around him? It just didn't make any sense. He ran blindly home. *~*~*~* The bitter wind carried the delicate peonies along with its gentle hands and suddenly swept them into Sakura's outstretched arms. She stared at them in amazement.  
  
She turned away from Kent. Looking at the peonies, she remembered Syaoran. Peonies were his favorite flowers. She inhaled the scent of the flowers deeply, and she could feel Syaoran next to her. She stared down the street, expecting to see him somewhere.  
  
She was disappointed.  
  
"So, are you feeling better?" Kent asked Sakura.  
  
"Yeah, thanks." Sakura got up abruptly. She grasped the peonies tightly. She sighed. "I just can't believe Tomoyo-chan would do something like that. It's so out of her character. She doesn't seem like the kind of person who would do that to me. And I've known her for my entire life!"  
  
"Well. I'm sure that she was only trying to help you." Kent said softly.  
  
"Yeah, but she went way too far." Sakura pointed out. "Well, I've gotta go. See you later."  
  
"Bye." Kent said. Sakura slowly faded from his sight as she walked down the street.  
  
Alright Syaoran, I'm going to make you pay. How are you going to act when you find out that Sakura is now mine. I'm going to make her mine. I'm going to make you suffer! Kent thought evilly.  
  
*~*~*~* Tomoyo slowly walked home. It was Christmas time, and the holiday spirit was in the air. She saw bunches of little kids crowding around toy store windows, pointing out what they wanted. She remembered a time when Sakura and she had done that. Tomoyo sighed. She was lonely. All the rest of her friends had someone who they could talk to when they needed help. Sakura had Syaoran and her brother and father. Chiharu and Yamazaki had each other and their families. Even Meilin and Syaoran had each other even thought they were miles away from their homes.  
  
Tomoyo felt left out. She had lots of troubles too. True, she had Sakura. But Sakura was so dense sometimes, and not understanding at all. Her mother was always out on business, and Tomoyo stayed out of touch with her father on purpose. And now Sakura was mad at her. Tomoyo had no one to talk to about how she felt. She was really sorry that she had done it now. Tomoyo stepped into the street. Tears welled up in her eyes. Who would she go to now?  
  
Where was Eriol?  
  
Tears blinded her vision. She was so busy thinking about what a horrible thing she had one when she heard a horn beep.  
  
Tomoyo looked up surprised. A car was heading straight towards her at full speed. She heard voices calling at her from far away, telling her to move. But all Tomoyo saw was the car, getting closer and closer. Frozen in fear and shock, Tomoyo couldn't move. The car hit her at its zenith speed.  
  
Tomoyo flew forward hitting the pavement heavily. She heard sirens echoing in the background. She knew that they would never make it in time. I'm sorry Sakura, and Eriol, I love you! were her last thoughts before the world faded before her and black entered.   
  
Aww.Tomoyo is hit by a car! What is gonna happen next? Is she gonna die? What do you think should happen? How is Sakura gonna feel? And there is a Christmas play coming up. Who's gonna play the main characters? How is it gonna turn out? Well, you get to find out next chapter. R+R! PS- Sorry if I'm not keeping up with the actual dates. It's sorta hard to do that. 


	7. Waiting For You

Chapter 7- Waiting For You  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.  
  
  
  
Sakura slowly walked home. She was still really mad at Tomoyo, but the anger had slowly diminished. She felt better after talking with Kent. He was a really nice guy to talk with. But Sakura was still in love with Syaoran. Kent was a helpful friend, just like Eriol.  
  
Thinking about Syaoran, she glanced down at the peonies in her hand. Was it fate that they had flown into her hands? Sakura knew that Syaoran didn't believe in fate or destiny, but she did. So she wondered. Also, she couldn't contact him at all anymore since that incident after the Homecoming Dance. She wondered why they had been able to contact each other. Maybe it was because they had been holding hands. Sakura was still unable to describe the emotions that had been stirred up in her when that had happened. She had felt joy beyond all emotions, and it had been so hard for her to concentrate on Hiyoshi's story. But she had also felt the presence of a card nearby. So she didn't really know which one was the reason that Syaoran and her had been able to contact each other.  
  
Maybe Syaoran had been near her when they had landed in her arms. She had felt his presence, but she hadn't seen him.  
  
Talking with Kent had really calmed her down. She got all shivery when she saw him, with his ocean-blue hair and silver eyes. He was a total hottie. Syaoran was pretty hot too, and he was also special in his own way. He was a totally reliable person, and Sakura could trust him with everything, except on how she felt about him. That was different.  
  
Would she ever be able to tell him how she felt about him?  
  
As she turned a corner, she was almost run over by a hurtling ambulance. It splashed mud all over her skirt.  
  
"Baka!" Sakura shouted. She ran home to get changed.  
  
As she entered her house, the telephone rang. She picked it up quickly.  
  
"Kinomoto Sakura, moshi moshi?"  
  
"Sakura-chan?" a frantic voice asked quickly.  
  
"Yes, speaking?"  
  
"This is Daidouji Sonomi. I have terrible news! (Sob) A car hit Tomoyo! There was a horrible accident." Sonomi babbled on, but Sakura barely heard a word she said.  
  
Oh no! It's all my fault for being mad at her! If Tomoyo-chan dies, I'll never forgive myself for being so mad at her. What do I do now?  
  
"Can you come to the hospital right away?" Sonomi finished.  
  
"Of course," Sakura said quietly. "I'll be right over. Hanging up, Sakura grabbed her coat. Then as she passed the telephone again, she paused. She quickly made two phone calls, and then raced for the hospital.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Syaoran and Meilin reached the hospital first, with Sakura right behind them.  
  
"How's she doing?" Sakura quickly asked Sonomi anxiously about Tomoyo.  
  
"She was hit pretty bad, and the doctor says that two of her ribs are broken and her left arm," Sonomi said softly.  
  
"Oh my," Meilin whispered.  
  
"Gomen ne," Syaoran said quietly, showing his genuine concern for the Card Mistress's best friend.  
  
Sonomi looked back to the room where Tomoyo was now resting quietly. She had been transported to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit). Tomoyo seemed to be sleeping peacefully.  
  
"She's my only child. I'd give anything for her to be alright," Sonomi whispered.  
  
The sound of the door opening broke the sad mood. Two people entered and headed for Sakura and her group.  
  
"Eriol-kun!" Sakura greeted him happily. "You made it."  
  
Syaoran gave him an overall glare, and then greeted him formally. Eriol gave them all a warm smile, and then looked worriedly at Tomoyo's room.  
  
"Is she ok?" he asked Sakura softly.  
  
"Yeah, she's going to be alright, even though she broke two of her ribs and her left arm," Eriol gaped at Sakura.  
  
"And you say that she's ok when she has all of that?"  
  
"Eriol." Sakura said warningly.  
  
"Hey, I can't help it. I need to do something. I can't just wait around for her to heal."  
  
"Why not?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Because!" Eriol retorted. "If you can do something about it, then you should do it!" Turning his back to her, he chanted out a spell softly.  
  
"Hideyo," Sonomi whispered softly as she saw the other man come towards her. Her heart was going through mixed feelings. She thought that she had lost him forever.  
  
"Wow! She's all grown up now isn't she," he said quietly.  
  
"What are you doing here? You stay away from my daughter," Sonomi said icily to him.  
  
"Sonomi, please. Don't you see, I had to go. We were barely surviving already, what with the baby coming; I left you with your father so he wouldn't be mad at you any longer. You would be fine with him, while I found a real job. Can't you see? You have to forgive me. I was going to come back soon, but then this young man found me, so I came her instead. As fast as possible. I'm sorry about your father. I had hoped maybe we could work things out, but."  
  
Syaoran stared blankly at the man while Sakura nodded her head in agreement.  
  
"Visiting hours have begun," the loudspeaker boomed.  
  
"Sonomi," Hideyo put his hand on her shoulder. She stared at it icily and then shook it off. She gave him a cold glare, but let him come into Tomoyo's room.  
  
"Hey, Eriol-kun, how'd you get there and back so fast?" Sakura asked him quietly as they filed into the room.  
  
"Don't forget that I'm not the reincarnation of Clow Reed for nothing." He jokingly messed Syaoran's hair up. "And I know that my little descendent missed me, right?"  
  
Syaoran gave him a death glare. "Don't touch me, Hiiragiwaza." Eriol smiled at him Syaoran tauntingly and ignored him.  
  
"Tomoyo-chan, how are you feeling?" Sonomi asked her as Tomoyo's eyes flickered open."  
  
She struggled to sit up. "Mother!" Wincing at a pain in her side, Tomoyo fell back.  
  
"Be careful Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura said.  
  
"Do you remember anything that has happened?" Meilin asked her softly. Meilin and Tomoyo had become really close friends since the day when Meilin had found out that Syaoran was in love with Sakura and she had gone to Tomoyo for comfort.  
  
"Hai. I was walking, and then a heavy thing slammed into me, it was a car? And then I felt bad and then I woke up."  
  
"Oh, Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura whispered.  
  
"Hello, Tomoyo." Hideyo spoke up softly.  
  
"Huh?" Tomoyo looked up at her father in confusion.  
  
"Hideyo." Sonomi said warningly.  
  
He glanced back at her. "Sonomi, can't we just put this all behind us?" He walked up to her and bent down on his knee." Please? I do still love you. I swear."  
  
Sonomi stared at him unsympathetically, then faltered and bent down to him. "Oh course I forgive you Hideyo. Tomoyo needs a father to take care of her. I'm so glad that you're back." Silent tears poured out from Sonomi's eyes as Hideyo wrapped her in a hug.  
  
Tomoyo cleared her throat. "Father?"  
  
Tomoyo looked happily at him, and Meilin, Sakura, Syaoran, and Eriol slipped through the door to converse and leave the happy family together.  
  
"So, how'd you find him Eriol-kun?" Meilin asked him curiously.  
  
"Well, it wasn't too hard because he is the head of a big-time business in England. All I had to tell him was that his daughter, Daidouji Tomoyo was in a big accident. Then he came along as nice as that."  
  
The doctor came by and went into the room to talk with Tomoyo and her parents about her condition. Sakura and her friends could hear them through the open door.  
  
"She seems to be healing quite rapidly." The gang could hear the puzzlement in his voice. "She should be out of here by next week at the rate she's improving. She'll be completely healed by or before Christmas if this continues." The doctor shook his head, bewildered.  
  
"Well, we all know that Tomoyo-chan's going to be ok," Sakura said dryly. Eriol winked at her, and couldn't help but see Syaoran's angry glare as Sakura's face lit up. He gave Eriol an accusing glare.  
  
Eriol smiled weakly at her. "I had to! I couldn't bear seeing everyone so sad."  
  
"Not to mention the love of your long life," Syaoran muttered softly. Sakura giggled. Eriol blushed, a rare thing indeed, and glared at Syaoran angrily.  
  
"Now, you wouldn't want to get your ancestor at you, now would you, Little Wolf."  
  
"No, of course not." Syaoran smiled innocently. "Whatever did I say to make you mad?"  
  
Sakura and Meilin had to laugh at how the boys were acting, so like little boys.  
  
"OK, Tomoyo-chan wants to speak to Sakura-chan now," Sonomi called out as her and Hideyo swept out of the room.  
  
Nervously, Sakura entered the room. She rushed to Tomoyo immediately. "Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura cried out.  
  
"Sakura-chan! I'm so sorry!" Tomoyo whispered.  
  
"Oh, Tomoyo-chan, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have been mad at you. Syaoran probably didn't think anything of it, and it was a really little thing anyway. Oh, I'm so glad that you are ok. I was so scared. What if you had died! And the last thing that I said to you was that I hated you! Oh, gomen ne Tomoyo-chan! Can you ever forgive me?"  
  
"No, Sakura, it's all my fault. I was punished for being such an awful friend to you."  
  
"But, Tomoyo-chan, we are the best of friends. We always have been, and we always will be. No matter what. We've been through way too much for this stupid thing to ruin our friendship. Friends forever? No matter how close I get to anyone else, we'll always be friends because we have shared so much together!"  
  
"Friends forever," Tomoyo agreed. "Aww, it's too bad that I don't have my camera, you should've seen the expression on Li-kun's face when Eriol winked at you! So how's Syaoran-kun?"  
  
"Tomoyo-chan, that doesn't mean that you're still trying to get us together, does it?" Sakura sweat-dropped.  
  
"Oh, c'mon Sakura-chan. You two are so kawaii together! Oh, go get Eriol- san and in here really quick before the visiting hours close. And Meilin- chan."  
  
Sakura nodded and called the rest of them in.  
  
"Tomoyo!" Eriol said.  
  
"Eriol-san, how'd you get otou-san in here?"  
  
"Oh, I had to do something. Are you happy?"  
  
"Of course I am, you silly," Tomoyo said. "Meilin-chan, and Eriol-san, stay in here for a sec. I'll talk to you guys later, Sakura-chan and Li-kun." She said as she waved them out. "Thanks for coming and I know that we'll remain friends forever Sakura-chan!"  
  
Sakura and Syaoran obeyed her commands. They practiced their lines in the script for a few minutes until the hospital announced that the visiting hours were over.  
  
"Alright you guys, get out of my patient's room. She needs a lot of sleep still to recuperate," the doctor said.  
  
Eriol rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he replied. Sakura and Meilin giggled.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Sakura!" Touya shouted at her full blast as she entered the house.  
  
"Where've you been?"  
  
"Out." She said.  
  
Fujitaka walked in, his face a mixture of concern and relief. "Honey, are you ok?"  
  
"Yeah otou-san, 'nii-chan. I was just at the hospital. Tomoyo-chan was in a car accident," Sakura said.  
  
"Oh, is she alright?" Fujitaka and Touya asked simultaneously.  
  
"Yes. She is." Sakura answered. "She'll be out of the hospital soon."  
  
"That's good," Fujitaka said. "But honey, please don't go off by yourself again."  
  
"But otou-san, I'm old enough to take care of myself."  
  
"OK, but leave a note next time," her Father said, suppressing a smile and a sigh.  
  
Sakura headed up the stairs to her bedroom, where she filled Kero in on what had happened while he pigged out on food.  
  
"Oh, Tomoyo-chan? She's the nicest out of all your friends. That Meilin girl is so whiny and bratty and really spoiled," Kero said.  
  
"Hoe, Kero-chan, she's changed so much since then. She's a lot more mature now, you haven't even seen her," Sakura argued.  
  
"Whatever, she's still that Chinese brat girl to me," Kero said as he resumed a video game.  
  
Long after Sakura had fallen asleep, Touya came into her room. He shook his head and grinned. She was sleeping half off the bed and had no blankets on. It was still cold in the house since it was December. He gently covered her. She turned over and mumbled an "arigato," before she fell asleep again. Touya tucked her in, and then left the room.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Monday came quickly, though Sakura was bored immensely without Tomoyo to cheer her up. Syaoran, Eriol, and Meilin tried their best, though it just wasn't the same without Tomoyo.  
  
Hiyoshi had enrolled in school with them to be in. Many girls were talking about him too. The sophomore girls in the school, many freshman, and even some juniors and seniors were all undecided about who they liked. They were all split four way about Hiyoshi, Syaoran, Michael, and Kent.  
  
"Kent-kun is so hot!" a sophomore breathed.  
  
"Hai, but Syaoran-kun is just so mysterious, and he can be just as kawaii!" another girl fawned.  
  
"But Hiyoshi-kun is by far so much better. The way he acts, his attitude, ahh, he's so kawaii!"  
  
"No, no, no. You three are all wrong!" a fourth girl said. "Michael-kun is so much better! He is awesome at sports and everything!"  
  
"And what about Eriol-kun? he's just so charismatic!" a freshman girl exclaimed.  
  
And so the conversations in the school with the girls went.  
  
Sakura was impatient for school to end because the play auditions were after school. She was nervous since Tomoyo had not had a lot of time to rehearse with Syaoran and Sakura. She wouldn't be released until Wednesday.  
  
Hiyoshi was auditioning for the play too. As soon as school ended, Sakura and Meilin rushed to the auditorium together.  
  
Eriol was with Rika, only because Tomoyo was in the hospital. Chiharu and Yamazaki were together, and Hiyoshi and Meilin became partners. Everyone piled into seats together to watch the beginning of the auditions.  
  
Kent and Leisa went together first. They sang the National Anthem, Kimigayo (The Reign of our Emperor). Then they performed a scene.  
  
"Wow, they did a great job!" Sakura whispered to Meilin who nodded in agreement.  
  
"Whoo!" went the girls for Kent.  
  
Next, Michael and Naoko went up together. They did an excellent job too. There was an eruption of applause from the audience for Michael.  
  
"Is he going out with Naoko-chan?" a girl asked.  
  
"I don't know. They seem really close," her friend replied.  
  
"No fair, I wanted him!" another girl wailed.  
  
Sakura waited patiently for her turn with Syaoran to come up. Syaoran was turning pale white, and he kept on cracking his knuckles.  
  
Sakura was worried too. Meilin and Hiyoshi finished their audition, which had been great too, and then it was Sakura's turn with Syaoran.  
  
Syaoran gave her a quick reassuring smile before they started. Amazingly, it turned out ok. Right after singing the anthem, Sakura and Syaoran went to their lines. They had practiced a lot over the weekend with Tomoyo's encouragement. She had helped them a bit since they had practiced at the hospital.  
  
But then disaster suddenly struck. Syaoran had a brain freeze.  
  
Baka, what's my line!  
  
"My name? It's Riley, but now, what may yours be, lovely angel?"  
  
Syaoran smiled in relief at Sakura.  
  
Domo arigato Sakura-chan!  
  
She blushed and tried to cover it up by immediately hurrying off the stage as their audition ended.  
  
"Hanyaan! Syaoran-kun is so cute!" another group of girls' ahhed over his performance.  
  
"Is he dating Sakura-chan?" a senior girl asked suspiciously.  
  
"Uso! I want him!!!" Three of her friends yelled.  
  
He was mobbed immediately as he stepped off the stage.  
  
Graciously, he slipped away from them, his face a bright red.  
  
"Good job Syaoran!" Leisa complimented him before Sakura could say anything as he made his way back to his seat.  
  
Sakura fumed inside. As Syaoran sat down, she congratulated him too. Just because Leisa had first didn't mean that she couldn't also. Syaoran nodded casually, but he could feel his blood rushing up to his face. They relaxed while they watched the rest of their friends finish.  
  
After all of the auditions, Sakura and her friends all went to the mall, except for Syaoran of course. Meilin watched him silently walk home. So did Sakura.  
  
"Where's he going?" Sakura asked Meilin.  
  
"I have no idea," Meilin said sadly.  
  
"Well, come on. We've got to go shopping, with or without him," Sakura said, wrapping an arm around Meilin's shoulder friendly-like.  
  
"Alright!" Meilin said, caught up in the excitement of shopping.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Hey, Sakura-chan, aren't these earrings pretty?" Rika asked her excitedly as she held up a pair of emerald earrings. "They'd look perfect on you. Try them on."  
  
Sakura tried them on shyly. "Oh, I'd love too, but I don't think that I'll have enough money to buy them. I still need to buy a lot of presents."  
  
She put the earrings back and turned away, but they were immediately snatched up and bought as soon as she walked out of the store.  
  
As Sakura strolled through the mall, she looked for gift ideas. She had bought a cool spray for Rika, a weird cross necklace for Naoko, a funky rock band CD for Yamazaki, a new cell phone for Michael, a pretty flower bracelet for Leisa, and a new shirt from Ikasan for Kent. She had almost exhausted half of her money. She had 10, 000 yen left.  
  
She spotted a cute teddy bear, which brought back rushing memories of the one that she still had from Syaoran from fourth grade. She wondered if he still had the one that she had given him.  
  
Syaoran was also looking at the teddy bears at a different store. Does Sakura still have the one that I gave her? I still have hers, sitting on my bed. I hope Meilin doesn't ever go into my room. I'd be interrogated even further about Sakura.  
  
"Hey Syaoran!" He heard a voice yell. Sakura came streaming into the store. "Did ya get my present yet? Huh? I wanna see it. Pretty please?"  
  
"Nope," Syaoran shook his head. He had left her present at home too because he had already gotten it.  
  
"Hey, what are you doing here anyway? I thought that you said that you weren't going to come," Sakura accused him.  
  
Syaoran sweat dropped. "Eh, well, you see."  
  
"He came to shop with me," Leisa said, draping her arm around him.  
  
Sakura stared at her with disgust, then waved a quick bye to Syaoran.  
  
"Sakura-chan seems preoccupied with Kent, don't you think?" Leisa asked Syaoran as they saw her join up with him.  
  
Sakura's face broke into a wide smile as Kent whispered something into her ear.  
  
"Hey, mister, if you aren't going to buy that, don't break it," The sales clerk yelled to Syaoran. He glanced down. He had accidentally twisted the teddy bear's head off in anger. Leisa giggled. Syaoran blushed a deep red.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Naoko and Meilin and another classmate, Togashi Kasumi were almost done shopping for their presents. Suddenly, Kasumi accidentally bumped into someone. She bowed and apologized.  
  
"Gomen ne," she said quickly as she started to turn away.  
  
A hand landed on her shoulder, and she turned back around. Her amber eyes met a pair of blue ones.  
  
"No, it's my fault for bumping into such lovely ladies such as yourself," the brown-haired boy said. He bowed slightly back to Kasumi and smiled at Naoko and Meilin. They looked him over critically while Kasumi blushed at being talked to by this really handsome boy. She quickly brushed her long black hair back a bit. "I'm Meiji Yamato."  
  
"I'm Yanagisawa Naoko," Naoko said politely.  
  
"I'm Li Meilin," Meilin said to him.  
  
"I'm Togashi Kasumi. Nice to meet you, Meiji-san " Kasumi said softly.  
  
"Please, Yamato is much more preferred," He said graciously.  
  
"Alright," Kasumi said. She was puzzled by his attitude. He was arrogant, gracious, and charming all in one. He gently kissed both Meilin and Naoko's hand. Then he kissed both of Kasumi's cheeks before she even knew what he was doing. They all gaped at him.  
  
"It's a French tradition," he told them as he saw their shock.  
  
"Oh," Naoko said slowly.  
  
"Oh, so you're French?" Meilin asked him suspiciously.  
  
"No, but I've been there numerous times."  
  
"Hey, Naoko-chan. Where've you been?" Michael butted in suddenly as he wrapped an arm around Naoko protectively. He glared at Yamato angrily.  
  
Yamato smiled pleasantly at him.  
  
"Kale?" Naoko said softly.  
  
"Meiji Kyoto, come to the main office this minute, or else I will tell your father. Get here now!" the loudspeaker blared.  
  
"Uh oh," 'Yamato' said softly.  
  
"I'll talk to you again soon," he said quickly to Kasumi more than Meilin and Naoko. Kasumi blushed as he ran off.  
  
Wow, he's a rich kid. Meilin thought as she saw him getting herded into a black limo. An elderly man stepped in after him, yelling constantly. He winked at her once before the limo drove off.  
  
"Naoko-chan, what were you doing, talking with strangers?" Michael asked Naoko angrily.  
  
"Hey, he's not a stranger. 'Sides, you can't tell me who I can talk to or not. I have my own life Kale!" Naoko grabbed Meilin and Kasumi, and they stumbled off together.  
  
Damn, why was I just so mean to Kale? Naoko asked herself as she walked off. I do like him a lot, but I'm not sure about him. He's got all of these girls that like him already.  
  
"Naoko-chan?" Meilin asked her quietly. "Thinking about Michael?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Hey, you can trust us with stuff, we know what you're going through."  
  
"Well.I'm pretty sure that I do like him, but how could he ever like me? I mean, he's so popular, and he's got half of the girl pop at school drooling over him too. And then there's me."  
  
"Hey, be confident. You're an awesome girl, how could any guy not like you? You guys are really close, and you even tried out for the play together. You give me one more reason that he doesn't like you, and I'll personally make sure that you go out," Kasumi reassured Naoko.  
  
"Domo arigato Kasumi-chan," Naoko said gratefully.  
  
"No problem."  
  
Naoko turned around to apologize to Michael, and saw him being mobbed by three other girls from her school. She turned around quickly and tried not to think about it.  
  
"Let's go," Meilin said as she saw the direction of Naoko's stare.  
  
"Yeah, I still need to get Kale a present. What do you think he's going to want?" Naoko asked them. They walked off discussing what they had gotten everyone.  
  
CHRISTMAS! Yay, ok, so everyone's buying presents. Tomoyo's ok, of course. She's my favorite character, so I'm definitely not killing her. Complications between Michael and Naoko, though it did seem that Kyoto likes Meilin better, right? (HINT HINT) anyway, Meilin is getting nice. I always liked her too, so I'm making her really nice in this fic. She's already engaged though, remember that. And Hiyoshi. 


	8. How Can We Remain Together?

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. AN- ok, since most of these chapters were prewritten, I'm not getting to the point where I am actually writing a new chapter, so it's gonna take me a while to get them up probably. Gomen, but R+R please!  
  
  
  
Chapter 8- How Can We Remain Together?  
  
  
  
Sakura was finally done shopping. She was at the food court, relaxing and waiting for everyone else to finish. She checked her watch. It was already seven. Her father and brother knew that she was coming home late.  
  
For dinner, she had pigged out on fast food. Finally, for Chiharu, she had gotten a pretty set of wind chimes. Kero's present had been the easiest to find: a new video game. Eriol had received a weird sparkly thing that Yamazaki had wanted also. Sakura had seen Chiharu pick it out for him though. She had no idea why the guys would want it. Must be a stupid guy phase, she thought to herself.  
  
Otou-san was going to receive a photo frame with a picture of Sakura in it. Sakura had bought a new CD player for onii-chan, since Kero had accidentally broken his while he had been playing around.  
  
Tomoyo, the last person Sakura had bought a present for was receiving a bath set, and a new 'best friends forever' necklace.  
  
Sakura still hadn't found a present for Syaoran, so she decided that she would hand make his.  
  
"Hey, Sakura-chan!" she heard a voice yell. She jumped. It was Meilin, Naoko, and Kasumi. They all sat down together and started to talk. Rika, Leisa and Chiharu were the next to show up.  
  
"Hey, where are all of the guys? I thought that we were the ones who liked to shop," Chiharu said with a smile.  
  
Sakura didn't say anything, relieved that Syaoran and Leisa weren't together anymore.  
  
Yamazaki and Eriol popped up. "What were you saying about us?" Eriol said.  
  
"Hey, guess who we saw?" Yamazaki piped up. "That famous movie star Meiji Kyoto! He was shopping with us and."  
  
"Oh shut up Yamazaki!" Chiharu strangled him.  
  
"No." Kasumi said softly. "We saw him too." So that's who he was. No wonder he's so rich and hot.  
  
"Really?" Sakura squealed.  
  
"Yeah, he was shopping with us," Naoko said.  
  
"Wow! I can't believe you saw him! What was he like, was he nice, oh, he's so hot!"  
  
"Ooh, it's Syao-kun!" Leisa screamed as she ran over to him. She could spot him anywhere.  
  
Sakura steamed inwardly. Syao-kun? Where'd she come up with that?  
  
Syaoran and Michael were together, talking. They seemed to be on a lot better terms than before. Michael sent a quick look to Naoko, who pointedly ignored her.  
  
Fine, who cares about her anyway? Michael asked himself angrily, and sadly.  
  
As he started to flirt with a classmate near him, he found himself staring at Naoko more and more. She was talking with Sakura and Meilin.  
  
I do care. Michael realized. Is it because I'm really in love with her?  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Syaoran, are you going to the Christmas dance?" Meilin asked him.  
  
He was busy carving an object out of wood in the living room. It was going to a present to Sakura for Christmas. Currently, it was a cherry blossom flower and he had already cut himself twenty two times while carving, though not out of inexperience. He often caught himself thinking about a certain green-eyed, and auburn-haired girl while he was carving.  
  
"Syaoran, you're going, right? And you'd better NOT be going with that jerk Leisa this time." Meilin told him.  
  
"No, I won't go with her," Syaoran said. "I already heard that she was going with Tomaki-kun."  
  
"Oh, that's good," Meilin said. Tomaki was an extremely hot guy at their school, though he was prone to violence sometimes.  
  
"Why would you be asking?" Syaoran asked her suspiciously.  
  
"No idea, I just didn't want you to go to some bi*** like Leisa. Syaoran, look at me." Meilin's voice was so serious and intense, that Syaoran immediately obeyed.  
  
"I gave you up because of the time that I spent with you here back when we were in fourth grade. I could see how much you loved Sakura, and even though it pained me a lot, I gave you up to her. I could see that I had no chance, and that you two were meant to be together. So that's why I want to see you two together."  
  
"What makes you think that my feelings haven't changed yet? I might not like Sakura anymore," Syaoran said to Meilin.  
  
"Syaoran, if your feelings have changed, then you need to tell her, gently of course, so that she can move on with her life and find someone else, though I think you two are the best for each other, and I don't know why your feelings would have changed."  
  
"Meilin, you know that we have grown close, but how do I break it to her?"  
  
"I don't know Syaoran, and I really don't understand why you don't love her anymore." Meilin abruptly stood up and walked out of the living room to her room. Syaoran stared after her.  
  
"I don't either," he said softly to the empty room.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Ohayou Meilin-chan!" Tomoyo greeted her as Meilin picked up the ringing phone in her room.  
  
"Hey Tomoyo-chan," Meilin said.  
  
"Well, did you get Syaoran-kun to come to the dance?"  
  
"Yes. He's definitely coming, and Leisa's going with Tomaki so this is a perfect chance to get them together."  
  
"I know. Oh by the way, I'm having a Christmas party after the dance, it'll be a sleepover, but my mom and dad will be monitoring. Do you think that you guys can come?"  
  
"Of course," Meilin replied. "Definitely."  
  
"Don't you think that you should ask Syaoran-kun if he wants to come?"  
  
"Nah, you'll come, and if you disagrees with my choice, too bad for him, cuz he's coming whether he likes it or not," Meilin said.  
  
"Oh ho ho." Tomoyo giggled.  
  
"So, I'll see you in school today," Meilin said as she hung up. "Oh Syaoran, guess what, we're going to a party after the Christmas dance!" Meilin announced to him.  
  
He groaned. "I hate social events, didn't you get sick of all the ones that we were dragged to back in Hong Kong?"  
  
"Nope," Meilin said excitedly. "I loved it there. Hey, Syaoran, do you still have that painting that you drew back in Hong Kong?"  
  
"Eh? What painting?" Syaoran asked, feigning confusion.  
  
"Don't give me that crap. You know, that picture of that beautiful girl with dark green eyes and flowing brown hair and that pretty, pretty pink dress?"  
  
"Eh." Syaoran sweat dropped. He knew exactly what painting Meilin was talking about. Two weeks before he had left, he had drawn a picture in art class. Their teacher had said to capture beauty in a picture, so without any ideas, Syaoran had just started painting aimlessly. Somehow, his brush took over, and he ended up with a picture of Sakura.  
  
He was about to destroy it when his art teacher had come up to snatch it away from him. It had been entered in a national art show and won first place. Syaoran was surprised that Sakura didn't know about it. Meilin had teasingly badgered him about the painting.  
  
"Syaoran?" Meilin demanded.  
  
"Maybe." Syaoran said, flipping pancakes over on the griddle.  
  
Meilin decided that it was a yes. "Mmm. it smells delicious!" She said to Syaoran as he presented her with a plate of pancakes.  
  
"Of course it does, I made it." Syaoran said.  
  
"I'm glad that I woke you up early," Meilin told him.  
  
He yawned loudly. "I'm not. I'm so tired."  
  
"Whatever would you do without me?" Meilin asked him grinning.  
  
"Skip school a lot more than now?"  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Sakura was really happy at school that day. Tomoyo had returned to class, but no one knew about her accident except Sakura, Syaoran, Meilin, and Eriol.  
  
"Look, the cast of characters is up!" the shout went throughout the hallways after school.  
  
"Who's Gina? Who's Riley?"  
  
"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo greeted her. "Guess who you got!"  
  
Sakura shrugged her shoulders. She hadn't thought that she had done a good job, so she didn't expect anything big. Leisa was giving her a huge death glare though, and several other juniors and seniors had congratulated her.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"You're Gina, the main lead in the play!" Tomoyo shouted.  
  
Sakura stared at Tomoyo in surprise. Laughing, Sakura shook her head. "Yeah, right Tomoyo-chan. Am I really?"  
  
"Sakura-chan, I never lie. You're the lead!"  
  
Sakura pushed her way through the crowd mingling around the post. At the top of the list was her name: Kinomoto Sakura- Gina.  
  
"Hoe!" Sakura said. Keeping calm, she scanned the rest if the list with Tomoyo. Yamazaki had gotten the part of Marc, a friend of Riley, as had Eriol and Hiyoshi. They were Alixander and Whitney, which were pretty big parts too.  
  
Chiharu, as Tomoyo had predicted, was Gina's friend Shinhwa. Rika and Meilin had landed parts as other angels. Naoko was ultimately, God. She was already going around commanding people around.  
  
Leisa had unfortunately gotten the part of Yuri. Although it was a big part, she was antagonist to Sakura. Kent was Eriol's understudy, and Meilin was Sakura's understudy. She was happy for Sakura though, and couldn't wait to help out. Tomoyo couldn't wait to make the costumes.  
  
As Sakura finished looking through the list, she realized that she hadn't seen Syaoran's name. She started to rescan the list. Spotting his name near the top, she glanced to the left of the sheet to see who he had gotten.  
  
Baka, he's only the understudy for Kale! Sakura thought to herself. Michael had gotten the part of Riley.  
  
Wow, my dream's finally come true. I'm with Michael and we're co-starring together, but why don't I feel any happier about this? Why aren't I excited? Why am I sad? It's because I know Kale and I don't belong together, that he and Naoko are the best couple. But then why am I bothered that Syaoran is only the understudy? Sakura was questioning herself.  
  
"Hey, Sakura, good job!" Michael congratulated her.  
  
"Thanks Kale, you too," she replied.  
  
"Ooh, Michael-kun likes Sakura-chan," went the whispers around the crowd as they drifted off.  
  
"No, look how close Naoko and him are," another girl said.  
  
"I gotta go," pleading a headache from the noise, Sakura escaped from the crowd.  
  
As she turned a corner, she heard a voice call out to her. Recognizing it as Syaoran's, she slowed down on her blades. As he caught up, she hid a smile from him.  
  
"Umm, Sakura-chan?" Syaoran finally managed to say.  
  
"Hoe?" she asked quietly.  
  
"." Syaoran panicked. How do I say this? How do I do this? Why am I the only guy that freezes up whenever I have to ask a girl something?  
  
"Well, I was wondering if you're going to the Christmas dance?"  
  
"Of course I am. Tomoyo-chan's making my dress again, and she's going to make me go anyway," Sakura said, giggling to herself. Syaoran smiled at her.  
  
"Are you going with anyone?" he asked, gaining some confidence.  
  
".No." Sakura said slowly. Syaoran nodded, and they walked on in silence for a bit, while Syaoran tried to get enough courage to ask her to go with her. Finally, he stopped walking, and Sakura turned around to look at him, her emerald eyes inquisitive.  
  
As he finally started, "Sakura, will you go to."  
  
Kent appeared in front of them, almost magically.  
  
"Hey Sakura-chan!" he greeted her.  
  
"the dance." Syaoran broke off. The moment was ruined.  
  
Damn you Kent! Syaoran screamed out loud in his head.  
  
"Hey, Syaoran-kun, I didn't know that you walked Sakura-chan home. I usually do that." Kent said to him.  
  
Sakura's mouth dropped open in surprise, but Syaoran didn't even notice because he was too busy giving Kent his copyrighted death glare. Usually he reserved that for Eriol the little stuffed doll and Sakura's evil brother, but Syaoran could make exceptions.  
  
Kent grinned at Syaoran, and then he slipped his arm through Sakura's and picked her books up. They strolled along, with Syaoran fuming behind them.  
  
Sakura could feel his anger behind them and she was puzzled at it. Why would he even care that I'm walking with Kent-kun? Kent's just a friend. Why is he so jealous. Baka, I'm trying to ruin myself again by thinking that he actually likes me. She gave a small sigh within herself. Why would he want me, when obviously, all the girls at high school are in love with him. I'm just another girl, who is nowhere near as pretty as Leiko, nowhere as smart as Cho, and nowhere near as sophisticated as Kiaka. I'm so stupid, thinking that he could actually like me. All I am to him is some girl that he now knows only because of the cards. He would never even have given me a second glance if I hadn't opened the Clow book, and that was all through my own clumsiness. Baka, concentrate Sakura!  
  
Syaoran suddenly caught some words. "So, Sakura-chan, you're going to the Christmas dance, right?" It was more of a statement than a question, but Sakura answered it anyway.  
  
"Yeah." She kept glancing back at Syaoran, who was staring at the ground deliberately ignoring her. Hoe, Syaoran-kun just asked me the same question. What do they want?  
  
"Would you go to the dance with me?" Kent popped the question fast. Syaoran's head flew up, and he waited for Sakura's answer silently.  
  
Sakura's head whirled with thoughts. Is that what Syaoran was trying to say? Why hadn't I paid him more attention? Maybe I would've been going with him, instead of trying to fight Kent off now.  
  
"Well, Kent-kun, I.um," she broke off. "Actually, I don't think that I'm going to go with anyone.  
  
"Oh." Kent said, not sounding let down or anything. "OK. Well, I've gotta go now anyway, so I'll see ya later." He ran down the street and disappeared around the corner.  
  
Syaoran's amber eyes flew up to meet a pair of emerald ones.  
  
"Why didn't you say yes?" Syaoran asked her slowly.  
  
"I. well. I don't know. Just because you went with Leisa doesn't mean I need to throw myself at every guy I see."  
  
"Hey!" Syaoran said. Suddenly, he had an urge to speak something. He had no idea where this was coming from. "You know all of the old days were just forgotten childhood memories to me. None of that stuff even matters now, they're just old memories, all in the past."  
  
Sakura turned away quickly. Forgotten childhood memories? Why did he have to go ruin everything when it was just going well?  
  
"Sakura?" Syaoran reached out to her, and she recoiled.  
  
"Hoe, I've really gotta go," she said hurriedly as she ran down the street to her house.  
  
Syaoran watched her go with mixed feelings in his heart. Why had he just said those words to her?  
  
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?" he yelled to himself to the growing darkness.  
  
Suddenly, he flipped his head up and glanced around.  
  
I thought that there was a sense of a card.or maybe not.then the sense faded. I guess that I'm too tired. Baka, now how do I open up to Sakura again?  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Running down the street, Sakura bumped into Hiyoshi. Gently stopping her, he saw the tears streaming down her face.  
  
"Sakura, are you alright?"  
  
"No," she said softly.  
  
"C'mon," he said as he led her away to the park.  
  
"OK, now let's talk," he told her.  
  
Slowly, the whole story came out, and Sakura even made some references to the old days.  
  
"I just don't know why he had to go ruin it. 'Just forgotten childhood memories'? How'd he think I would react to it? Now I really don't know what to think of him. There was a time when I was positive about how I felt about him. Now I'm just not sure at all." Sakura said to Hiyoshi.  
  
"All you have to do is trust in him. Trust that he still loves you and that you will remain together forever," Hiyoshi said gently to Sakura.  
  
"But what should I do?"  
  
"That's your own choice, as is who you want to be with. If you're sure Syaoran is the one, then you should. If you are convinced that he doesn't feel the same way about you, then you shouldn't waste your time on him. I know that you have been through a lot together though, so I don't want to help you lean in one direction," Hiyoshi said. "I need to go, and I think that you probably should too."  
  
"Alright. Domo arigato," Sakura said to Hiyoshi.  
  
Hiyoshi stared right back at her with his serious gray eyes. "Sakura, I am only giving you advice. The way you use it is up to you. Please don't make any bad decisions, ok?"  
  
"Hai." Sakura responded. She headed home quickly.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Syaoran's cell rang as he entered the house. "Wai?" he asked.  
  
"Xiao didi! (little brother) Merry Christmas, well, early. I've got great news!" Syaoran groaned as he heard his sister, Li Feimei's voice on the phone.  
  
"What's up?" he asked her.  
  
"Well the Elders have finally decided that you can stay in Japan for as long as you want, as long as you want. BUT, you have to send the Li Clan Sword home."  
  
"Oh, that's fine, as long as you send mine here." Syaoran said to his sister.  
  
"OK." Feimei said. "Nice talking to you, I'm sure my xiao didi is fine, and everyone here is good, so I'll see you later."  
  
"Zai jian! (bye bye)" Syaoran called to her as he heard the sound of the phone being hung up on him.  
  
Now Syaoran had time to reflect on what had happened. He was disturbed by what Sakura had done but if that was the way she wanted it. He really didn't understand it. Why did she suddenly turn away? Did she really hate him that much? And why the hell had he said those words to her? he knew he didn't believe them himself so where had they come from?  
  
He was only the understudy for Riley, with Michael playing the real main. It basically said that he didn't have a part in the play, and that he wouldn't be in it. That wasn't good, but Syaoran was glad that Michael had gotten the part and not Kent.  
  
For one thing, Michael didn't have a bad aura radiating off of him, though for some reason, Syaoran was also getting a slight aura off of Michael, but it was much less than Kent's. Syaoran had also known Michael for a longer time than Kent. Plus, he knew that Michael liked Naoko, so there wouldn't be a bad reason for Michael to get Sakura. Syaoran sighed. His life was way too complicated.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Otou-san, I got the lead in my play!" Sakura shouted to him as she walked through the door.  
  
"Great job!" her father congratulated her. "When is the performance? I want to go see my daughter perform."  
  
"In January," Sakura said.  
  
"The kaijou can actually get a good part in the play? What a miracle!" her brother snickered.  
  
"I am not a kaijou, and that was mean 'nii-chan!" she yelled at him, punching him lightly in the ribs. She ran upstairs to her room after she grabbed some snacks.  
  
"So, whose Riley?" Kero asked innocently after Sakura had told him about the play.  
  
"Oh, Michael-kun." Sakura said. She was concerned about Syaoran still. The words kept repeating in her mind. They were just forgotten childhood memories. What did he mean by that?  
  
"Oh, why can't I read minds? What is he thinking about?"  
  
Had he been trying to ask me to the dance? Why did he ruin everything then? Well, I have Hiyoshi to lean on now in case anything goes wrong. Sakura thought. And of course, Tomoyo-chan is always there.  
  
Her cell rang, and she picked it up.  
  
"'Lo?"  
  
"Sakura?"  
  
"Yeah, it's me."  
  
"This is Michael-kun."  
  
"Oh. Hi!"  
  
"Hi, well, I was just wondering.about the play."  
  
"Yeah, well, hey, good job. And I was wondering something too."  
  
"OK, you go first."  
  
"Alright. I've noticed that there are a few places where we have to like, kiss?"  
  
"Hai."  
  
"I don't know if I'll be too comfortable kissing you."  
  
"Well, it's ok. We can work it out. I'm not too sure about it though either."  
  
Sakura laughed. "Hey, you're pretty close with Syaoran now, right?"  
  
"Hey, I said one question! But I'll answer it anyway, yes, if you call talking to occasionally in the hallways and mall friends."  
  
"OK, well. never mind."  
  
"Hey, he did tell me that he wanted to go with someone to the dance."  
  
"Oh, like who?" Sakura asked casually, though her heart was beating really fast.  
  
"Oh, it was.I don't remember."  
  
Sakura fell over on the floor. She got up, starry-eyed.  
  
"Anyway, do you want to get started on practicing since we have the most lines and everything?"  
  
"Sure." Sakura replied.  
  
"OK, how about every weekday, at about 7:30 at night?"  
  
"Sure, want to start today?"  
  
"Yeah, so see you soon." Michael hung up.  
  
Sakura grabbed her script as soon as her homework was done and started practicing her lines. She had more than five hundred to memorize, plus her cue lines. She was going to be busy.  
  
As she went down for dinner, Touya greeted her.  
  
"Hey, where's otou-san?" Sakura asked him.  
  
"He's out for a meeting," her brother told her. He was radiant as he handed Sakura a plate of cooked, un-burnt pleasant looking spaghetti.  
  
"Hey, not bad 'nii-chan. It's edible!" Sakura said to him.  
  
"Yes! First success!" Touya cheered as he grinned.  
  
Sakura smiled at the new picture of her mother. She was so glad that her mother had been a model cuz now they had so many pictures of her.  
  
This picture showed her with another male model, one who looked oddly familiar to Sakura. She squinted at the picture closely, but couldn't tell who it was.  
  
Giving up, she grabbed her stuff and headed out towards the park. As she headed out the door, she collided with Michael.  
  
"Hey!" he greeted her warmly. "Where ya going?"  
  
"To the park to meet.with you. Well, c'mon. Hurry up before my brother sees you. He's a bit." her eyes widened as Touya appeared. ".protective." She muttered underneath her breath.  
  
"Who are you?" Touya demanded angrily.  
  
"Michael Brown, nice to meet you too." Michael said pleasantly.  
  
"We're just going to go practice a few scenes from the play that I'm in." Sakura said, trying to save the situation before it got any worse.  
  
"This is your co-star?" Touya asked suspiciously. He rounded on Michael. "Where's the Brat?  
  
Touya didn't like the Chinese Brat, but he trusted him a lot more than this kid, what's his name, Marc, Mitch, Michael? Touya couldn't remember.  
  
"Yeah, well, umm, Syaoran-kun's busy," Sakura said.  
  
"And what exactly are ya guys doing in this play?"  
  
"Nothing much," Sakura said quickly.  
  
"Oh, just some hugging, some kissing, that sorta stuff," Michael said evilly.  
  
"What?!" Touya exploded.  
  
"Gee, great!" Sakura said. She glared at Michael and Touya glared at both of them. She laughed nervously at Touya, and then jumped into Michael's car.  
  
"Hurry up, let's go!" She yelled.  
  
"Sakura!"  
  
Touya sighed as they drove off. He was afraid for his little sis. Afraid that she would get hurt, terribly. He didn't know that she already had, and she was fighting with it this very minute. Touya reluctantly went back into the house.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
"Ooh, Kent, that was evil, using that Lie card on him!" Leisa accused him.  
  
"I know, but no way is he going to take my Cherry Blossom away from me! She's mine! Too late Syaoran, your girl is mine!"  
  
So, anyone mad that Syaoran didn't get the main? And what's going on between S+S? Who knows. It'll get clearer later, but it'll be an S+S soon. And I'll have them getting really close soon. Don't worry all ya S+S fans. And I just looooove Hiyoshi! Isn't he just such a sweetie! Next chapter is going to be the Christmas Dance. R+R please, reviews help a lot!!! ~Ruby 


	9. Believe in Me

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS  
  
AN- before you read.umm.uh oh.I forgot what I was going to say,,, Kero- typical, Ruby, you are so stupid! Ruby-hey, shut up.or else I'll have Sakura leave you by yourself with Syaoran for a week, or even have you switch bodies again with Syaoran.laughs evilly Kero- gomen ne! I promise to behave now. Ruby- good boy.o yeah. I remember now! I've been rereading some of my old chappies, and they have so many grammatical errors in them! Why hasn't anyone been like, hello, you suck at writing! U've got tons of spelling errors and missing words? Hello? Anyway, I'm having people proofread my chappies now, so they shouldn't be too bad, and if they still are, someone tell me! arigato! Ciao!  
  
Chapter 9- Believe in Me  
  
  
  
"Gomen ne," Michael muttered as they entered the park.  
  
"For what? 'Nii-chan's like that to basically everyone of my friends," Sakura reassured him.  
  
"OK, whatever you say," Michael sighed. "So what scenes are we going to practice?"  
  
"Well, since really don't know our lines, since we just got our scripts today, well, actually Tomoyo-chan already had some so I got it early, but anyway, I have no idea."  
  
Michael and Sakura got settled under a tree near each other in the park.  
  
"Here, let's do a scene where it's just us, and is we skip this part right here, let's do page 17. Act 2, Scene 1. It's where they first meet."  
  
"Alright," Michael agreed.  
  
Half an hour later, as they finished rehearsing the scenes, Sakura brought up a rough topic.  
  
"Hey, Kale-kun?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Those kissing parts, I don't know, they're only stuff that we have to do, and they don't really mean anything. OK, we're just two people in the same grade who got stuck with these parts."  
  
"Yeah, I know," Michael grinned. "Well, I'd better drive you home before your 'nii-chan comes out to kill me."  
  
Sakura laughed easily. She felt a lot better hanging out with Michael now that she had gotten everything straightened out.  
  
What would Syaoran think though? She asked herself. She decided to tell him about it the next morning so that he wouldn't blow up at her when he finally did find out, or guess about something that wasn't really happening.  
  
Sakura groaned inwardly as she thought of her future schedule.  
  
Meet with Syaoran every morning at four to practice fighting skills. After that she went home, took a shower, ate breakfast, and then rushed off to school at seven. Right after school at five, she would have cheerleading practice, though the season was almost over for basketball. Soon, play practice would start though, so she would be just as busy. Starting homework as soon as she got home, she would try to finish it all before dinner. Then at seven she would have to go out to practice her lines with Michael.  
  
It was around nine already, and the park was deserted. The sun had set, but the street lamps were on so Sakura and Kale could read the script.  
  
Now she had to go home and try to get some sleep before four. Syaoran and her had started training. She was nowhere near as skilled as he was, but she was learning basic kicks, punches, and locks. Meilin would sometimes watch them.  
  
"Sakura, are you gonna come or what?" Michael asked, leaning over her with a concerned look on his face.  
  
"Oh, hai," Sakura stood up and walked to the car with him.  
  
Once in the car, Michael started driving, but kept glancing at Sakura, and then away again. Finally, Sakura got it, and said to Michael.  
  
"If you want to tell me something, then just say it. You can tell me."  
  
Michael sighed. "Well, you know Naoko, right?"  
  
Sakura nodded. She could see where it was going. "We're pretty good friends." A smile slowly spread over her face.  
  
"Yeah, well, I sorta, well, you know, really like her. I know she can be really freaky sometimes when she's trying to scare you, but she had matured a lot too. She doesn't do that as much now, plus she's also really nice and her stories are so awesome!" Michael said in a rush of words.  
  
Sakura grinned at Michael. "Great! You guys are so kawaii together! I can't wait to get you two together!"  
  
"Uh-uh," Michael said firmly. "You aren't telling anyone anything, and I'd better be able to trust you."  
  
"Aww, of course you can trust me," Sakura said. "I won't tell a single person if you don't want me to."  
  
Suddenly, Michael slammed on the brakes.  
  
"Hoe!" Sakura said surprised.  
  
"My dad," Michael said quietly. He quickly switched seats with Sakura, and then he ducked his head under the switchboard so no one could see him. Sakura could see a silver limo coming towards the car with police cars surrounding it.  
  
She stared at it, and as it went by, she caught a glimpse of nothing but black tinted windows.  
  
"OK, they're gone," she told Michael.  
  
He breathed silently. "My dad and I aren't on the best of terms right now," he said through gritted teeth.  
  
Sakura skillfully switched the topic. She was surprised though, and she wanted Michael to tell her more about him. She still didn't know anything about him. From what she had seen, his father must be really rich, but Michael didn't seem too stuck-up, even though he was rich also.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Ohayou!" Sakura said breathlessly to Syaoran the next morning as she arrived at training. He nodded to her as he finished his own practices. They had decided to be in a secluded place so they wouldn't be interrupted by anyone, so there were in the woods behind the park.  
  
Syaoran pushed back his messy brown hair, only to have it fall back in place. He swung his sword in a series of jabs, thrusts, and parries. As he spun around, he caught sight of Sakura watching him intensely. Emerald eyes met amber eyes and two faces blushed simultaneously.  
  
"OK, let's start," he said quickly to Sakura. She nodded and began warming up. Syaoran watched with no expression on his face, but he smiled approvingly inside.  
  
As they started, Sakura suddenly felt awkward with Syaoran. She didn't know why, but as their hands brushed together yet again, she felt herself blush and she pulled away from Syaoran.  
  
"Are you OK?" Syaoran asked her quietly.  
  
"Umm."Sakura quickly searched for an excuse. "Hai."  
  
Syaoran gave her a look, but then ignored it.  
  
Sakura was uncomfortable with the practice until they finally stopped. She collapsed on the ground, her sides heaving for air, and Syaoran sat down next to her.  
  
"Hey, good job on the play tryouts," Syaoran said.  
  
Sakura laughed gently "That was pure luck. I really can't believe that you only got the understudy part for Riley, I really wanted you to get that part." She was so tired she had no idea what she was talking about.  
  
"Really?" Syaoran asked her surprised.  
  
"Hoe," Sakura said sweat dropping. She could feel her face turning red as her dropped her eyes to the ground.  
  
"Sakura, look at me," Syaoran's voice begged her. Reluctantly, she brought her eyes up to meet his. They burned with a dark secret that Sakura longed to know.  
  
"Syaoran, I really want you to know that.I think that you.that I really l." Sakura started, but she was cut off by the sound of his cell ringing.  
  
Syaoran let out an inaudible sigh as he picked up his phone. Meilin's voice came out distinctly over the phone. She was yelling at Syaoran for not coming home yet. Syaoran hung up.  
  
"Well, I've gotta go," Sakura said quickly as she turned away.  
  
"Wait, Sakura, what were you trying to say?" Syaoran asked quickly.  
  
"I think that you would make a great Riley!" Sakura said as she ran off.  
  
"No, what you were really trying to say." Syaoran said softly as he watched Sakura disappear.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"No, Kinomoto-san, more passion!" Norlina sensei yelled at her.  
  
"She did fine," Terada sensei argued.  
  
"No, this needs to be perfect!" Norlina screamed.  
  
Terada sighed as he waved for Sakura to continue. She redid her line, and the play continued.  
  
Tomoyo watched them while also helping prepare the costumes and scenery painting. She also helped kids that weren't on stage memorize their lines. Everyone agreed that Tomoyo was an important part of the performance.  
  
Sakura was nervous though because the play was coming up in two weeks.  
  
As play practice finished, she met up with Tomoyo, Eriol, and Syaoran to go home. Meilin and Hiyoshi had already headed home together.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Ouch!" Sakura had pricked her thumb again, and she sucked on it. She was trying to knit something for Syaoran. She had started with an embroidery, but it seemed a bit too girly. She was now making a scarf with green fabric. She had embroidered two wolves, one on either side of the scarf.  
  
She was almost done and she was hurrying because she would have to give it to him by the party at Tomoyo's house.  
  
Suddenly, Sakura felt a disturbance in the air. She glanced up at Kero, and he nodded.  
  
"Alright, let's go."  
  
*~*~*Half and hour later.*~*~*  
  
Sakura twirled around in her new outfit, a black one that showed off her perfect figure with red bows in her hair.  
  
"Oh, Sakura-chan, you look so kawaii!" Tomoyo said blissfully as she spun around her, videotaping.  
  
Sakura blushed. "Let's go Tomoyo-chan." They had traced the force to the park, the usual place where everything always happened.  
  
As she reached the park with Syaoran and Eriol and Tomoyo, Sakura spun around.  
  
She saw something out of the corner of her eye racing towards the woods. It shone brightly and flashed as it disappeared.  
  
"C'mon!" Sakura yelled as she ran towards the woods.  
  
Syaoran ran with her, but Eriol disappeared.  
  
Tomoyo kept her video camera on Sakura and Syaoran as they ran into the woods, then waited for Kero and Eriol to join her.  
  
Sakura stopped at the edge of the woods.  
  
"What are you doing?" Syaoran asked her impatiently.  
  
"I might get lost." Sakura said softly.  
  
"Oh, hurry up Sakura, I'm right here." Syaoran said.  
  
"Alright," Sakura nodded as she ran in.  
  
Besides, do you ever think that I would lose you? Syaoran thought as he dashed in after her. I promised that I would protect you, and that's a promise that I intend to keep, till my death!  
  
Sakura caught sight of the Whip again. It was shimmering brightly as it whirled through the woods. Suddenly, it unexpectedly flipped around and headed straight towards Sakura.  
  
Surprised, Sakura stopped short. "Hoe!" she yelled. As it came swerving towards her, she ducked quickly, but the piercing leather still cut deep into her left arm.  
  
"Oww!" she said softly. She was determined not to let her weak side show.  
  
"You will not conquer me, card!" Sakura yelled. She spun her staff out. As Syaoran suddenly appeared, he saw Sakura facing the Whip with blood streaming out of her left shoulder.  
  
"Spirit of the dark forces, I command you, return to your card of contract!" Sakura yelled as the little fairy came flying at her again. Nothing happened, and Sakura had to duck quickly again. This time, it cut deep into her side.  
  
Sakura winced, but she didn't say anything. She gritted her teeth, determined to keep herself strong. Syaoran saw her and shook his head. He could see right through her. He ran over to her.  
  
"Sakura!"  
  
Sakura looked at him through strained eyes, and smiled grimly. "I'm fine." She stood up feebly.  
  
"Whip card, return to your form of contract!" Sakura yelled as she tried a different tact.  
  
Unwillingly, the petite fairy fought against the flow of the card. Sakura put all of her energy into the card. Suddenly, the card broke through. Sakura collapsed to the ground, and the card flew off, a bright streak against the dark sky.  
  
Hiyoshi started to run after it, but Eriol held him back.  
  
Syaoran gently picked her up to take her home.  
  
"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo yelled as she came running through the woods.  
  
"She's fine, but you might want to call her family to cover for her." Syaoran said quietly.  
  
"Where are you taking her?" Kero asked suspiciously.  
  
"To my house. Under my care, she'll get better faster. 'Sides, if I took her home, her 'nii-chan would freak!"  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
As Syaoran entered his apartment, he called out to Meilin. She didn't answer. He gently laid Sakura down on his bed, and chanted a soft Chinese healing spell over her wounds. They closed slightly, but they were still far from healed.  
  
"Syaoran." Sakura said softly.  
  
He jerked up. "Eh?"  
  
"I'm fine. I can go home," Sakura said softly as she opened her eyes.  
  
"Don't' be silly," Syaoran scoffed. "You are in no condition to go anywhere. You are staying right here."  
  
"Where am I?"  
  
"In my apartment," Syaoran said as he blushed.  
  
"But I'm fine," Sakura said as she struggled to sit up. She fell down heavily on the bed and Syaoran hurried over to see her.  
  
"See, don't be so rash. You are in no shape to go anywhere."  
  
"But I'm not weak," Sakura argued, but she could see that she was fighting a losing battle.  
  
"No, you aren't, but being strong doesn't mean you are stupid enough to go out with such heavy wounds," Syaoran said firmly to her.  
  
"But you're always so strong, I wanted to be like you, to live up to your standards so that you would accept me as the Card Captor Mistress," Sakura said. Syaoran shook his head at her. She was delirious from all of the blood that she had lost.  
  
"Sometimes Sakura, it's ok to let your weakness out," he said to her softly. She murmured slightly in her sleep, and he didn't know if she had heard him or not.  
  
He covered her up gently with a blanket as she fell asleep again. Then he went into Meilin's room to see where she was. He didn't find anything there except a note. All of her stuff had been moved out too.  
  
Syaoran,  
  
I don't know how you're going to react to this, but I decided to move out of the apartment with you. I'll be right across the street and my cell'll always be on. I know that you need some time to yourself, plus, I felt that you would need the apartment for some weird reason soon, and I'd just be in the way anyway. Don't forget to do all your laundry, make your bed everyday, the spoons and forks are in the second drawer to the left. (On went another list of things that Syaoran had to do) Love, Meilin  
  
Syaoran grinned. How did Meilin know? He thought that she didn't have any magic.  
  
Thanks Meilin. He though out loud.  
  
Syaoran looked down at Sakura, while a smile flitted to his lips. He could stay like that all night, staring at his love. Her beautiful face, her soft lips, so tender, so red, so fresh. Syaoran shook his head to clear it.  
  
Then quickly, surprised at his boldness, he bent down. No one would ever know, and gently brushed his lips against hers. She moved slightly, moaning out in her sleep, but she didn't wake up. Syaoran tucked her into her covers, then kept up his night vigil.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Hoe!" Sakura moaned as she rubbed her eyes. She felt a heavy weight on her stomach, so she opened her green eyes and lifted her head up.  
  
She almost screamed as she saw Syaoran's head there. He was breathing slowly, and seemed really tired. Sakura sighed. Her arm and back still hurt a lot, but Syaoran's magic had helped her to heal a bit. Now his aura and strength was weakened, all because of her. he would take awhile to recover too.  
  
"Now where's Meilin-chan?" she asked out loud.  
  
As if on cue, Sakura heard the front door open and someone walked in.  
  
"Syaoran-kun?" came the unmistakable voice of Meilin.  
  
"Hoe!" Sakura said. As she tried to figure out a way to hide herself, she accidentally hit a stuffed animal off the bed, and it fell into a glass bowl. RING, DING, RING!  
  
Sakura groaned to herself as she heard Meilin's footsteps heading towards Syaoran's room.  
  
"Syaoran, what are you do." Meilin's voice trailed off as she caught sight of Sakura and Syaoran. Her mouth dropped open.  
  
"Sakura and Syaoran!" her voice snapped.  
  
Syaoran drowsily opened his eyes. "Eh?" he asked as he saw Meilin. "It's only six, lemmesleep!"  
  
"What is Sakura doing in your house?" Meilin demanded.  
  
"Eh?" Syaoran was now wide awake as he saw what sort of position he was in now.  
  
Sakura blushed and tried to stand up. "I was hurt last night during a capture, so then Syaoran tried to heal me and he brought me here."  
  
Able to support herself again, she forgot that Syaoran's head had been on her stomach, and he fell to the ground as she got up.  
  
"Oops." Sakura giggled as she saw what had happened.  
  
"Not funny," Syaoran groaned as he picked himself off the ground.  
  
"Well, hurry up cuz I need my breakfast," Meilin called to Syaoran. "Geez, you can't ever keep couples apart."  
  
Sakura and Syaoran blushed simultaneously. "You take that back Li Meilin!" Syaoran yelled at her. She grinned as she ran out of his room.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Wow! Finally, we're out of school for Winter Recess, and the Christmas Dance is tonight!" Sakura danced around Tomoyo, who was preparing yet another outfit for her. This one was a simple red one with a gentle flare at the bottom.  
  
"Who are you going with again?" Tomoyo asked Sakura innocently.  
  
"Tomoyo-chan, I told you, no one. You are going with Eriol-kun though, right?"  
  
"Yeah, but I should've gotten someone to go with you."  
  
"No way!" Sakura argued.  
  
"Here, we need to get you a dress for tonight." Tomoyo said.  
  
"But I already have that other one."  
  
"Ugh, that one was so ugly. I bought that for 700,000 yen only, and it still looks really ugly."  
  
Sakura's eyes bulged out. "Only 700,000!!!!"  
  
But Tomoyo pulled out an ice blue dress that was flared and Sakura went to change.  
  
She came out looking beautiful. The bottom of the dress had curved ridges and reached to her knees. It was sleeveless and looked perfect on Sakura.  
  
"Ooh, kawaii!" Tomoyo squealed. She videotaped everything while Sakura spun around.  
  
Sakura sighed. All of her friends were going with someone, Chiharu and Yamazaki, Tomoyo and Eriol, Rika and Tristan, one of Michael's friends, Naoko and Michael, Meilin and Hiyoshi, Kent and Kasumi. Syaoran wasn't going with anyone though. Sakura was secretly glad, though she didn't know why.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Syaoran-kun looks so hot tonight!" went the whispers around from the girls at the dance. Syaoran had just gotten out of his convertible with Meilin and Hiyoshi.  
  
As he entered the party floor, he immediately spotted Sakura. As he headed in her direction, Leisa latched onto him.  
  
Trying to shake her off after a period of ten dances, Syaoran headed towards the refreshments table. That's where he found Sakura and Kent together. Trying to keep his anger down, he walked up to them.  
  
"Hey Sakura-chan," he greeted her.  
  
Her emerald eyes lit up at the sight of him. Kent scowled, turning his face ugly.  
  
"Do you want to dance?" Syaoran asked her shyly.  
  
"Sure," she replied. Kent grabbed her arm, and she winced. It still hurt from yesterday.  
  
Syaoran gave Kent a glare that was so mean it could've melted glass. Kent drew back.  
  
"Thanks," Sakura said to Syaoran as they reached the dance floor. "I really wanted to get away from him, but it would've been too rude, you know what I mean?"  
  
"Yeah," Syaoran replied, giving Sakura a rare smile. "Are you sure that you really wanted to though?"  
  
"Yeah, I am," Sakura said softly.  
  
Syaoran let out a sigh. He was glad that she had wanted to, but he had just had a recall of his cousin. He still was not over the fact that his cousin had died. Sakura felt his aura shifting emotions, and she understood immediately.  
  
She changed the subject. "Are you coming tonight to Tomoyo-chan's house?"  
  
"Of course," Syaoran replied.  
  
"Great, I can't wait to see what you got me," Sakura said happily. Tomoyo and Eriol flashed them both smiles as they whirled past them. Tomoyo was videotaping everything.  
  
Sakura blushed as a slow song came on. Syaoran gently put his arms around Sakura's waist, and she slowly lifted her arms up to his neck. There was no other place for her forest green eyes to go, except to meet his as they moved closer together. Sakura gazed deeper and deeper into Syaoran's amber eyes.  
  
Syaoran was losing himself in her eyes, and if he didn't look away soon, he was going to do something that might not be accepted by Sakura.  
  
Suddenly, Sakura's eyes widened. Syaoran gave her a questioning glance.  
  
She directed her eyes to the left of him, and as he swung around, he saw Tomoyo taping them. He groaned.  
  
"Great, I just love seeing all of my moments on tape."  
  
Sakura giggled. As the song ended, they drew apart, both blushing. Avoiding each other the rest of the dance, they didn't talk again until everyone piled into Tomoyo's limo.  
  
It was starting to snow softly, and the next day would be Christmas.  
  
"We're going to have a White Christmas!" Michael said. Everyone stared at him.  
  
"Hoe?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Never mind, it's an American tradition."  
  
Rika, Leisa, Meilin, Kent, Hiyoshi, Kasumi, and Tristan crowded together into the three back seats of the limo, and Eriol and Tomoyo grabbed the driver and passenger seats. Michael and Naoko went somewhere together, and were going to meet them later that night at Tomoyo's house. The front row in the limo was left for Sakura and Syaoran.  
  
Unsure of how to start the conversation, Sakura started first. "So, what'd you get me for Christmas? I can't wait 'til tomorrow. I've been patient up 'til now. Please, can I see it?"  
  
Syaoran grinned at the begging Sakura.  
  
"One peek only," he said. Sakura nodded, full of anticipation.  
  
He slowly dug into his bag, and then brought out a beautiful navy blue velvet case. He handed it gently to Sakura.  
  
Sakura slowly pushed the top up. Inside was the amethyst necklace that Sakura had wanted.  
  
"Wow!" Sakura breathed. "It's beautiful! Syaoran-kun, you didn't have to! I can't believe you! I can't take it."  
  
Syaoran rolled his eyes. "I didn't waste my money one it just so you would say you didn't want it," he told Sakura.  
  
"Will you put it on me then?" Sakura asked him.  
  
"Sure." Syaoran took it out and gently unclasped it. Sakura lifted up her long brown hair, and Syaoran fastened it on Sakura's neck.  
  
"It's only the first one," he whispered to her.  
  
"You got me more?" Sakura asked surprised.  
  
"Yes, because you are my angel," Syaoran said, his breath hot on her neck.  
  
"Syaoran, do you believe in me?" Sakura asked him quietly as chills ran down her spine. He was so close to her.  
  
"Of course I do!" Syaoran replied. "I always have, and I always will. You can do anything, and I'll always be here to help you."  
  
Sakura stared deeply into Syaoran's eyes, then closed hers as Syaoran moved closer.  
  
Someone cleared a throat suddenly, and Sakura suddenly noticed that the car had stopped. Her eyes flew open and Syaoran moved away immediately. Tomoyo's butler had opened the door and was waiting for them to get out.  
  
Sakura quickly grabbed her stuff, her face a deep red from blushing. Syaoran did the same. Their friends peered in curiously, and only Tomoyo gave them a knowing smile.  
  
"Welcome!" Tomoyo's dad greeted them all. He winked at Syaoran and Sakura, remembering when they had been there for his daughter. He brought everyone into their own private guest rooms.  
  
After everyone had settled in, they all set up their own Christmas tree in the parlor. Ornaments, the star, presents, everything went on the tree.  
  
Sakura looked longingly at the presents, but Tomoyo and Rika pulled her out of the room. She wondered what Michael and Naoko were doing.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Michael-kun, where are we going?" Naoko asked him. They were driving in his right red Viper to who knows where.  
  
"You'll see," He said to her mysteriously.  
  
Naoko rolled her eyes. She was a bit nervous, being by herself with Michael, but she felt that she knew him well enough. He had asked her to audition with him for the play, and she was glad that he had landed the lead. She hadn't really cared about the play that much, but now she was a little jealous that Sakura was cast as the costar to Michael.  
  
She glanced at him, taking in his entire appearance. His blue eyes were serious, and they were concentrated on his driving. His brown hair was being whipped in the air by the wind, and he looked really hot.  
  
She quickly looked away as Michael glanced at her.  
  
"Naoko."  
  
She kept her eyes on the other side of the road. Michael sighed and kept driving. Naoko's heart pounded so loudly that she thought that she was having a heart attack. She didn't know exactly why she was so uneasy with Michael, but she was getting really nervous.  
  
Finally, Michael stopped the car near the beach.  
  
"What are we doing here?" Naoko asked him.  
  
He replied by helping her out of the car, and then just started hiking up a close cliff. It wasn't too steep, so Naoko could get up there without ruining her dress or shoes.  
  
As Michael held out a hand to boost Naoko up, she glanced around. It was pitch black, but she could see the city's lights shining brightly in the foreground from her position. The stars were shining above her head, twinkling brightly. The moon beamed down at her from above, and she smiled.  
  
"Wow!" she gasped.  
  
"What do you think?" Michael asked her. "This is my place where I go whenever I'm really pissed at someone, usually my dad."  
  
"It's beautiful!" Naoko said. "I love it! Thanks for showing me all of this."  
  
Michael glanced at her shyly. He was sitting down on the ground, and Naoko sat down next to him.  
  
"This is awesome," she told him. "I really want us to become closer friends." Naoko laughed as she realized that her words were pretty stupid. They had tried out for the play together, gone to a lot of dances together, done so many things together already.  
  
"I still feel like I don't know you that well," Naoko said as she fumbled for words to say.  
  
"Hey, we've got a lot of time to learn," Michael said. "Are you cold?" he asked her as he saw her shiver once again.  
  
She shook her head. Michael ignored that and put his jacket around her. He put his arm around her and grinned as she snuggled closer to him. She smiled blissfully at him.  
  
"Michael."  
  
"Hmm?" he asked.  
  
"I just wanted to tell you that." Naoko lost her nerve.  
  
"What did you want to say?" Michael asked her.  
  
"Well, thanks for bringing me up here."  
  
Michael let out a barely audible sigh. He had thought that she might have said what he had long wanted her to say. "You're welcome. I'm glad that you like it up here."  
  
Naoko sighed to herself. She hated how she was so shy around Michael. Usually, she had no problem talking to anyone, but Michael always seemed to make her nervous. She snuggled closer to him and he swung his arm around her shoulder instinctively.  
  
In a way, they were already really close. Naoko grinned at the dark sky, and gently tilted her head up to rest it on Michael's shoulder. She relaxed and enjoyed the excellent view and the presence of Michael with her.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Finally, you guys are here!" Sakura said as Michael and Naoko arrived at the Daidouji mansion. It was around midnight, but no one was going to bed, yet.  
  
The girls and guys separated into their rooms. Since no one was tired, all of the girls piled into Tomoyo's room.  
  
"Truth or Dare?" Naoko suggested.  
  
"Sure!" Meilin was the first to agree. The rest of the girls slowly nodded yes.  
  
"OK, who's going first?" Tomoyo asked eagerly. Naoko stared at everyone carefully, finally picking a victim.  
  
"Sakura, you!" she decided.  
  
"Umm, ok," Sakura replied. "Truth."  
  
The rest of the girls huddled together.  
  
Rika was the spokesperson. "What were you and Syaoran doing in the middle compartment of the limo?"  
  
"Hoe!" Sakura said out loud. She thought quickly. She couldn't tell them that they had almost kissed because Leisa was there, plus it was personal business.  
  
"Well, he gave me this pretty angel necklace." It was the truth, just not all of it. Sakura pulled it out for the rest of the girls to see. They oohed and ahhed. Leisa, however, glared at Sakura dangerously.  
  
"My turn to choose." Sakura immediately looked at Naoko. "Naoko-chan, truth or dare?"  
  
"Dare" Naoko chose boldly.  
  
A million things ran through Sakura's mind, most of them about Michael. Finally, she settled on one that wouldn't give anything away about Michael and Naoko, at least intentionally.  
  
"OK, I dare you to go into one of the guy's rooms and videotape him sleeping."  
  
Naoko's eyes danced and twinkled. "OK." She accepted the challenge easily. She knew exactly which room she was going into, Michael's.  
  
Christmas Dance, Christmas is coming up, more like it's here. Naoko and Michael are getting closer, though something that's coming up may pull them apart a bit more than they want. Michael and Sakura are getting to be close friends. Syaoran and Sakura are sorta close. R+R please rowzezqueen@yahoo.com ~Ruby 


	10. Holiday Secrets

IDisclaimer: I don't own CCS ( Gomen ne for not posting soon.it's hard with so much school work and everything, I would love to ditch school, but I guess then I'd never ever get anywhere in life.well, enjoy! And I'm starting to wrap things up soon.if there's stuff you don't get, tell me so I can explain it all and get this story done with. Sorry this is a bit long, though it isn't that bad. ~Ruby/I  
  
Chapter 10- Holiday Secrets  
  
Naoko gasped as she slowly opened up Michael's door. She turned on the camera's auto light and looked around quietly.  
  
No one was there.  
  
Being the adventurous one, she decided to dig through his stuff. She turned the camera off, but took out her penlight. Finding a type of journal, Naoko opened it up. It was computerized and had a password, but she broke through it easily. Curious, she started reading.  
  
December 2  
  
I got caught stealing a pair of sunglasses with Tristan. Oops. Dad was totally mad. Why the hell does he even care? Just about his rep mostly is all. Naoko sat next to me in Photography today, and I was totally freaking out. She can really do that to me. Usually, I flirt with anyone casually, but Naoko can always read my mind, and totally ignores me when I'm trying to flirt. She only talks to me when I'm.being myself? Well, anyway, I'm locked in my room right now with Thomas and Luke as my bodyguards for protection. More like jail keepers. It only Greg were here, he wouldn't hesitate to let me out. But Dad had to go and fire Greg. It's a good thing I found him a job working for Mr. Hurley. Mom and Azalea are still at NYC. Dad gets to visit them in NYC where Azalea is finishing up her shoots for her modeling agency. I'm stuck here in Japan. I don't get why Dad's so interested in me to learn business. It's not like I even want to. Zach's so much better at it, plus he actually wants to. Dad just doesn't like him cuz he's only my half-bro, well, I hope he can come here. Maybe Mom'll convince Dad to let Zach come here for a few days. Dad'd totally flip if I told him that I wanted to be an artist. Tristan's here throwing pebbles at my window. I'm thinking of sneaking out now. Wow, Thomas's sleeping, and Luke just went to take a piss. The good luck that I get these days. Maybe it's cuz I'm wearing the necklace that Naoko gave me last year on my birthday. Well, those stupid cameras can go to hell cuz they can't do a single thing about my escape.  
  
  
  
December 10  
  
I just found out that I got the lead in the school play this year. That's totally sweet! Of course Dad doesn't know about it at all. Sakura's playing Gina, the girl that my character likes in the play. I don't know why Naoko didn't get the lead, and she was awesome too. Well, she's God, which is a pretty big part also, though we aren't in any scenes together. Sakura and Naoko are really good friends though. Well, I went Christmas shopping, and I spotted that famous movie star, Meiji Kyoto with Naoko, Meilin, and Kasumi. I totally butted into that convo, though who knows if Naoko knew who he really was. Kasumi stared after him though, so I wonder if she likes him. I wonder if we'll see him again here. Kasumi's pretty too, with her dark brown eyes and black hair, but of course no one surpasses Naoko to me. (AN- he's totally appearing again, though maybe not in the name that you see here. Watch for him.) The Christmas Dance is coming up, Eriol and Tomoyo are going together, Yamazaki and Chiharu, Hiyoshi and Meilin are going, but just as friends, and I want to ask Naoko, but. I'm not sure. A ton of girls have asked me already, but I don't know who to go with. If Naoko does like me, she'll be totally disappointed, but if she doesn't she won't care. If she says yes, I'll take her to the special place. If she says no, I'll lament and moan, but I'm getting out of here soon anyway, so who cares. But since we've been to so many dances already together, I'm not that scared. I hate it here sometimes. Skateboarding tomorrow with Tristan and Tomaki. Syaoran is bugging me about Naoko, but why doesn't he ask Sakura? It's obvious that he likes her and that she likes him, but both of them STILL haven't figured out that they like each other. They're so hopeless. Maybe before I go, I can get them together. Funny, now I'm the matchmaker. I told Sakura that I liked Naoko at the first private rehearsal that we had, but I don't know if she can keep the secret. I'm pretty sure that she can though; she's matured a lot since I first met her, way back in seventh grade.  
  
Naoko grinned, in spite of her situation. She quickly looked around. She walked to the door, grabbing the camera, and looked out the door. No one was in the hallway, so she returned to Tomoyo's room silently.  
  
"No one was in there," she told the rest of the girls.  
  
"Huh?" they all said in unison as they filed out of Tomoyo's room. After checking all of the guys' rooms, they all returned to Tomoyo's room.  
  
"Where'd they all go?" Rika asked the question that was on everyone's mind.  
  
Sakura was the first one to feel a force in the room. She spun around, giving a "Hey!" to warn the others, but it was too late.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Touya and Yuki walked into the kitchen just in time to see Kero wolfing down the last rice cake.  
  
"Hey, I wanted that!" Touya shouted as he shook the little 'rag doll' up and down ferociously. The doorbell rang, and Touya mercifully dropped Kero.  
  
Yuki followed Touya to the door.  
  
"Hey Nakuru-chan!" Touya greeted the girl that he now knew was also Ruby Moon. He knew all about Sakura's 'extra activities' now. He had discovered Kero accidentally, or maybe not accidentally one morning, and the entire story had come out.  
  
"Hi, Touya," she replied. "You guys are going to England when?"  
  
"Well, probably around February or March, are you going to come with us?" Yuki asked her.  
  
"You know I am," she replied.  
  
"OK, well, Merry Christmas!" Touya told her. He grabbed some candy from the counter and handed it to Nakuru. She grinned at Touya. Spinning around quickly, she then handed Touya and Yuki each a new laptop computer.  
  
Touya's eyes lit up. "Wow!" he whispered. "Where'd you get the money to buy this stuff?"  
  
"Well, I've been living for such a long time, so I've got connections everywhere!" she said with a wink at him.  
  
Yuki grinned at her. "Arigato Nakuru-san."  
  
"Yeah, arigato." Touya echoed.  
  
She blushed slightly, and then jumped onto Touya again. Touya rolled his eyes.  
  
"Some people never change," he said exasperatedly.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Ahh!" Sakura screamed, and a hand clamped down on her mouth quickly. A person with a steel grip was holding her. She could dimly see the other girls being attacked by.the guys?  
  
She started laughing slightly as Syaoran picked her up gently. She avoided his eyes though, and saw Eriol talking with Tomoyo, who had already calmed down. Kent was laughing at Leisa, who was still screaming.  
  
"Ahh, Syaoran-kun, help me!" Leisa said, and then she noticed him holding Sakura. Her face turned ugly. Syaoran scowled right back at her. Syaoran was content, just holding Sakura against him. He felt the warmth of her body seeping into him. He smiled blissfully. Sakura hid a smile as she saw Leisa glower. Michael and Naoko were just sitting together, and Yamazaki was tickling Chiharu. The rest of the gang was spread out in Tomoyo's room, which was huge. Rika and Tristan hung back a bit with Tomaki.  
  
Hey, I've never known who Rika-chan liked. I know it's an older guy, but.wait a minute, is that an engagement ring on her finger?  
  
As if she was reading Sakura's thought, Rika looked over and blushed as she saw the direction of Sakura's gaze.  
  
"What are you doing?" Sakura demanded of Syaoran as he took her out of the room. He motioned for her to stay quiet, and they ended up in her room.  
  
"Reach out with your senses again, and just feel," he told her as he gently laid her down on her bed.  
  
Sakura threw him a confused glance, but she obeyed. She relaxed and reached out. She drew back a bit as she felt the world in chaos. She could sense two dark forces near them. She opened her eyes and stared at Syaoran.  
  
"It's even worse than I thought," Sakura said to him.  
  
"I never did like Kent that much."  
  
"Hey, Kent-kun is pretty nice, as is Leisa-chan."  
  
"They are our enemies!" Syaoran said.  
  
"Yes, but they are also humans, Syaoran. I want to get to know them better before we do anything. I want to know why they're doing this, and why they're fighting. Don't you want to find out more about them? You can't just judge people on how they act! You'd be out of my life already if I did that."  
  
Syaoran lowered his head, ashamed a bit at what he had just heard out of Sakura's mouth, biting on his lower lip thoughtfully. He remembered when he had first arrived in Japan. Sakura and him had not hit it off on the right foot. He had totally degraded her, but now they were close friends. That would never have happened if Sakura had hated him for attacking her that one day.  
  
Outside the door, a lonesome figure dashed off without a sound. He was puzzled by the words that Sakura had just said and made a beeline for his cousin's room.  
  
"Sakura, I admire you sometimes. You have so much perseverance and you are so honest." Syaoran said softly. "You look at everyone with their good sides. With me, I can't see anything but what they've done wrong. You're such a good Mistress."  
  
"Hoe?" Sakura couldn't believe what she had just heard. "Syaoran-kun, you're so strong and so prepared. I wish I had your courage and skills. I'm so clumsy, lazy, and untrained!"  
  
"Sakura, I trained long and hard for my skills, and my courage comes from within. You can do the same too." he paused, searching her eyes intensely.  
  
"Syaoran, you can tell me anything. It's ok." Sakura said as she gazed deeply into his amber eyes. He stared straight into her innocent emerald ones.  
  
It's now or never, he told himself.  
  
"Sakura, I.I. lo."  
  
"Help!" Leisa screamed as she came hurtling into the room.  
  
Sakura looked around, confused. The rest of the gang came running in too. Sakura gave Syaoran a quick smile as their friends surrounded them.  
  
IWhat was Syaoran about to say?  
  
Now she'll never know how I feel about her. /I  
  
Leisa had a weird smile on her face, almost evil-like, Syaoran noticed. He stared at her hard. She grinned at him.  
  
"Hey, Syao-kun, wanna play?" she asked him, edging up to him and slipping under his arms. Syaoran turned a bright red and everyone giggled. Sakura's eyes showed her hurt though.  
  
Hideyo appeared in the doorway of Sakura's room. Hiding a grin, he reprimanded the teenagers. "It's approximately two in the morning. Unlike you, some of us want our sleep. You should all be in bed right now!"  
  
Most of the gang hung their heads and looked ashamed. Yamazaki grinned and started a new tale.  
  
"Do you know that people who don't get a full night's sleep turn into these zombie like creatures that."  
  
Chiharu bonked him on the head. "Don't you ever know when to be serious?"  
  
"Otou-san, we were just going to bed," Tomoyo said. "Right guys?" Everyone smiled and nodded.  
  
"Well, go on." Hideyo ordered everyone out of the room. Kent threw Sakura another glance as he exited the room.  
  
Kent gazed at Sakura closely. He didn't know what to make of her. Listening to the conversation had made him question some things that had happened in his life. Leisa and him went into his guest room together.  
  
His fingers went to a silver earring embedded deep into his right ear as he entered the room. It was a little orb with a swirl of red liquid in it. Glancing over at Leisa, he saw that she still had hers on her left ear.  
  
Grimacing, he tried to pull his off.  
  
"Kent-san, what are you doing?" Leisa whispered violently as she moved his arm away. "You know that it won't come off. We've already tried so many times."  
  
Kent shook his head. "Don't you hate being caught up in this? Having to do whatever we are told to do? I want a free life where I can do whatever I want to do. I want to be free."  
  
He dug even harder at his earring. Suddenly, a shock wave coursed through his body. He stumbled and doubled over in pain on the floor.  
  
"Kent!" Leisa said, genuinely concerned as she rushed over to him. "Are you OK? I told you not to do anything," she said in a know-it-all voice, but she was sincerely scared for her cousin.  
  
"Forget it cous, we were made to do this, so that's what we gave to do. I won't lose you again, like I almost did before."  
  
"And I will be strong for you, so you won't worry for me cous," Kent replied. Yet, something in his heart kept nagging at him. He brushed it away, and decided to get some rest.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Ohayou everyone!" Sakura shouted. "Merry Christmas!" She ran down the hallway, waking everyone up and ran directly to the tree. She had no trouble at all finding her presents.  
  
Her friends filed in sleepily, rubbing her eyes and yawning. Soon, oohs and ahhs filled the room as present after present was opened.  
  
Sakura received many presents, and her favorite was the brand new flute from Tomoyo, and the emerald earrings from Rika. Then, Sakura started to open Syaoran's present. It was wrapped in a pretty pink paper. She opened the present slowly and gasped as she took out the folded white dress. It was sleeveless and had gold sequins down both sides.  
  
Sakura leaned over and gave Syaoran a big hug. He blushed and looked away quickly. He felt an angry presence in the room, and he saw Leisa's eyes flaring up. Her dark eyes were a fierce red.Wait, weren't her eyes gray before? He asked himself.  
  
Syaoran went back to his own present unwrapping, though he was disappointed that he didn't receive a present from Sakura, he didn't show anything.  
  
Sakura noticed his frustration though. She grinned as she remembered what she had done.  
  
~ Flashback ~  
  
"Wow!" Meilin said as she saw the final result of the scarf that Sakura had knitted for him. "You did a great job!" she congratulated her.  
  
"Arigato." Sakura replied. "It's a good thing that you got him out of the house. How'd you do that?"  
  
Meilin blushed as she remembered. "Umm, well, I told him what a jerk he was, and we sorta got into a mock fight, and he went off to sulk, probably in the woods. So, he shouldn't be back for awhile. Anyway, I'll just have him change in my room, so he won't suspect anything, I'll tell him that I spilled some.water all over the floor and it's really wet or some stupid excuse like that."  
  
Sakura nodded  
  
Two hours later, the entire room was decorated.  
  
"Wow!" Sakura breathed. She was totally exhausted. Syaoran's room looked very nice though. There were green streamers flowing from every corner of his room, crisscrossing the full ceiling. Then, on his bed, Sakura had laid his present. She had written a quick card, but left it unsigned. She had no idea that he knew her handwriting by heart already.  
  
~ End Flashback ~  
  
Syaoran wouldn't find anything until he returned home his morning. The holiday cheer was in the air as Sakura looked around the room. Naoko was playfully ruffling Michael's hair. Yamazaki was quietly talking to Chiharu, his eyes open for a change. Tomoyo, of course, had her Sony V8 out and was taping everything.  
  
The doorbell rang, and Hideyo called everyone to the dining room from breakfast. Fresh oranges were just delivered.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Bye ya guys!" Tomoyo said as Sakura and Syaoran finally left. She collapsed on the coach. Eriol grinned at her and sat down next to her.  
  
"Tired?" he asked her.  
  
"Of course!" Tomoyo sighed. "I'm so glad Mom and Dad took time off work so that they could help me with this party. None of the servants are really reliable enough. Except for. never mind." "Hey, are you working on another outfit for Sakura-chan?"  
  
"Of course!" Tomoyo replied. "Tell me more about Hiyoshi-kun. I need to start making outfits for him too. What size does he usually wear? How tall is he, what's his waist length, how much does he weigh."  
  
Eriol sweat dropped.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Meilin!" Syaoran yelled to her.  
  
"Yes?" she asked sweetly as she entered his room.  
  
"What did you do to my room?"  
  
Syaoran had arrived home and found his room in a complete mess.  
  
"Oh nothing." Meilin stopped as she saw his room.  
  
"What did you do?" Syaoran repeated.  
  
"It wasn't like this before!" she exclaimed. "Sakura-chan and I were getting a surprise for ya, so we decorated your room. Actually it was only Sakura. Where's your present? She'll be totally devastated if she finds out that you didn't get it! She spent so much time on it!" Meilin began tearing the room apart, looking for the scarf.  
  
"Hey, what did she get me?" Syaoran asked. "And she came to decorate my room?"  
  
Meilin nodded. "HERE! I found it! But who could've done this?" she asked as she stared at the drawers hanging halfway out, clothes torn out all over the place, the bedcovers ripped off.  
  
Syaoran shook his head. "I don't know." He gently took the scarf. He felt the power that coursed through it. Without realizing it, Sakura had incorporated an immense amount of her power into the scarf by the effort that she made by working on it.  
  
He smiled to himself. So she had done something for him. He gently wrapped the scarf around his neck. Meilin grinned.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Sakura arrived home, tired and hungry. She spotted a note attached to the refrigerator. Grabbing a can of Coke first, she took it down to read.  
  
Little Kaijou, I just had to tell you that I'm leaving early. Yuki and I are both gone now, and we both received letters that said that we were accepted at Harvard University in Connecticut in the United States. I know my English isn't that well yet, but I'll improve. Tell otou-san for me, I couldn't reach him on his cell, I think that he's still working on his big architect project. He had to present it in a few weeks. I know that you are a big girl, but watch yourself. Take care, and love and hugs to everyone, Touya  
  
"'Nii-chan's gone?" Sakura asked herself. "I always knew that he was smart enough, but I wish that I had said good-bye. I won't see him again until after summer break. When is he coming back, and how could he leave just like that?" Sighing, she headed up to her room.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Hey Tomoyo-chan!" Michael greeted her as he saw her at the mall. "Did you find anything left over at your house? Maybe a blue electronic planner thing?"  
  
"Umm, I don't think so Brown-kun. Some socks, Yamazaki-kun left his imaginative prank, a fake snake, and I know that Sakura-chan left her little rag doll at my house." Grinning to herself.  
  
~Flashback~  
  
"No, how could Sakura leave me here again?" Kero whined.  
  
"Are you saying that you don't like it here? I can call her right now!" Tomoyo teased him.  
  
"NONONO! I was just joking!" Kero pleaded as he hurriedly stuffed himself with some food from the huge platter in front of him. He tottered over a bit, and almost fell off of the table. "But you know, as my mistress, she should at least bother to call," he grumbled as he resumed his eating.  
  
Laughing, Tomoyo headed inside.  
  
~End Flashback~  
  
"A rag doll?" Michael winked at Sakura and she blushed. "Oh. I thought that I left something there, but. well, thanks anyway." Michael told Tomoyo. She grinned and headed towards another store with Sakura.  
  
Michael stared after them with a puzzled expression on his face. Where is it then?  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Sakura groaned as her alarm clock woke her up again. Her eyes barely flickered open as she turned her alarm off. School. She thought as she sleepily yawned and then she sank deeper into her covers, her auburn hair tangled in the blankets.  
  
Twenty minutes later, she bolted up. "HOE! I'm late!"  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
A very breathless Sakura slid into her seat in class under the stern gaze of a very disapproving teacher.  
  
"Kinomoto-san, I'll see you after class."  
  
Sakura nodded. She tried to stay awake and managed only until her fifth period, where she completely zoned out during a test. That was why she never felt the presence of the force.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Naoko entered third period, photography. It was one of the few classes that she had with Michael.  
  
"Today, we are going to be taking pictures of the wonderful weather outside," the teacher said, "There are no birds outside, no flowers, no blooming trees, but the glistening snow covers all. It is beautiful work from nature." After the teacher droned on for a bit longer, she let the class split up into groups.  
  
"Partners?" Michael asked Naoko.  
  
She threw him a half-smile and nodded.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Naoko shivered. It was freezing cold outside. Michael and her were only half done with their roll of film, but the rest of the class were already done and gone.  
  
She and Michael had ventured deep into the woods by themselves.  
  
Naoko shivered again. Michael glanced over at her and slowly moved towards her. He took his jacket off and draped it over her. Naoko glanced shyly at Michael as he strode off again and smiled faintly. She snuggled in deeper and inhaled the scent of him.  
  
"Arigato," she said softly. Michael didn't reply as he snapped a picture of a snowy owl grooming itself on a pine tree. As the owl spotted the source of the clicking noise, it flew off with a cry of outrage at being disturbed.  
  
"OK, all done," Michael reported to Naoko, ten minutes later.  
  
A light snow started to fall and Naoko leaned against Michael. He grinned. He had his own jacket on again, but he knew how cold and vulnerable Naoko was. She was always troubled now, about something that he couldn't place his finger on. She acted as if nothing was wrong, but Michael caught her staring out the windows sometimes, with hints of tears in her eyes.  
  
"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Naoko asked Michael again.  
  
"Yeah, I think so," he replied.  
  
"Think?"  
  
"I don't know really, but I thought that this was the way out."  
  
Naoko checked her watch. "OK, we have five minutes left till sixth period starts, so we can take our time. But I really don't want to stay out here and get caught in the cold."  
  
"Yeah, I don't really either." Michael stopped and stared at a tree that had three slashes on its side. It looked oddly familiar.  
  
"We just passed this," Naoko said, reading Michael's mind.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
The snow started falling harder and faster.  
  
"We're lost," Naoko said in finality.  
  
Michael nodded, turning concerned eyes on Naoko.  
  
"Gomen ne," he whispered.  
  
"Hey, we can do it," Naoko reassured him.  
  
"Good." He straightened. "C'mon, we'll find a cave or some sort of shelter." He told Naoko. She nodded and held onto his hand as he led her around, barely able to see him through the snowflakes.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Sakura and Syaoran huddled together in the gym with their other friends. School was over because of the snowstorm, but no one could go home because visibility was zero.  
  
"Where are Naoko and Michael?" Sakura asked everyone. No one knew. Sakura glanced at Syaoran.  
  
"I don't know." He looked concerned.  
  
"I'm sure they're fine," Tomoyo told them.  
  
"I hope so," Sakura said. She was troubled too. She looked out the window and shivered at the increasing number of snowflakes that were coming down.  
  
"Matte, Sakura-chan?" Eriol asked her.  
  
She concentrated on nothing but the nature outside. Then, she felt it. Her eyes flew open.  
  
"Yeah," she replied. "I sense it."  
  
OK, so how was this part? (Was that another boring repetition?) Anyway, I wonder what Sakura's going to do with her new power??? Hint hint, she's with Syaoran. I'll leave you to guess about what's going to happen. ~Ruby 


	11. Snowed In

Heehee.I don't own CCS.umm.a few more chappies to go! it's almost over *tears* well, enjoy anyway! ~Ruby  
  
Chapter 11- Snowed In  
  
"Kale-kun?" Naoko gently touched him. He glanced down at her.  
  
"There's a slight cliff over there, maybe that'll help us." She pointed off to the right. He nodded.  
  
"Let's go," he replied, heading off.  
  
Naoko followed.  
  
"Great!" he said enthusiastically. "This is awesome, there's even wood in here already, so we don't have to go out to look to some to make fire." He crawled deeper into the cave, trying to block out the entrance with some rocks.  
  
Naoko helped him a bit, but it was no use, the snow and cold still seeped through.  
  
"Kale, what do we do?" Naoko asked him, keeping her tears locked away.  
  
"Naoko, we're safe in here. Don't worry, I'm here." Michael comforted her.  
  
She nodded, forcing her tears back. Cry in front of Michael, never! She watched him light a fire. Then he leaned back against the wall. Naoko rested on him, and he wrapped his arm around her protectively.  
  
"Hey, we're fine in here," he whispered. She looked up at him with worried hazel eyes.  
  
"Kale," she began. Michael lifted up a finger to her lips, silencing her. Just that brief touch made her body tingle.  
  
As she looked up into Michael's eyes, they locked together. Azure and hazel. Slowly, Michael bent down. Naoko closed her eyes as he gently grazed her lips, feeling complete bliss.  
  
"Gomen ne," Michael said hurriedly as he let go.  
  
Naoko gazed at him in confusion. "Why?"  
  
"Naoko."  
  
She didn't let him finish his sentence, pulling him down to her, and kissing him again, fully this time. His eyes showed surprise and then happiness, letting the kiss deepen in intenseness and length. He could not describe the feelings of joy that coursed through his being as he broke apart from Naoko.  
  
"I love you, Michael," Naoko whispered into his ear.  
  
She called me by my real name. "I love you too, Naoko." She nodded with relief and reliance in him and then leaned against Michael again.  
  
"Better get some rest," he told her. Naoko didn't hear, already deep in sleep.  
  
Michael gazed down at her longingly. He would never take advantage of her in a situation like this, unlike many of his friends. Was she scared of him or about what would happen if they did get into a relationship? They were close but. Michael sighed.  
  
"Aishiteru, Naoko," he whispered into her ear softly.  
  
Too tired to think anymore, unconsciously, he slipped his arms around her protectively. Naoko's head rested on his shoulder, and he let his head fall onto hers gently, succumbing himself to the sleep that was severely nagging him.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Minna, minna! Calm down! Onegai! Do not call your parents, there will be a huge jam in front of the school if you do, and everyone will still be stuck here. We are all having you spend the night here in the school. The heat is on and working perfectly. There is no reason for anyone to panic. Your parents have all been informed that you will be spending the night here. Now." The principal was issuing orders out in the gym to Sakura, her friends, and the rest of the school.  
  
A huge snowstorm had just started. As Sakura looked around, she noticed something. School was out, and it was growing very late since only a few of the buses were able to make it to the school through the storm.  
  
"Syaoran," she whispered to him over the loud noise in the auditorium. He looked over at her.  
  
"Naoko-chan and Michael-kun still aren't here! Where are they? Syaoran, what if something awful happened to them?"  
  
"The photography class went outside to take pictures!" Hiyoshi whispered to them in a concerned tone. "I remember we were all done, but Michael and Naoko-chan were nowhere near done. They went into the woods!"  
  
Sakura widened her eyes in anxiety. "Oh no! What are we going to do?"  
  
"Get out there and find them!" Syaoran hissed to her. "Hurry up! It's already almost eight at night! That means that they've been out there for more than ten hours! They're going to be either freezing or."  
  
"Don't say another word!" Sakura snapped to Syaoran, too worried about her friends to notice how much she had hurt him, "OK, we're walking home now," she announced to the rest of her friends.  
  
"Oh, Sakura-chan, you guys, be careful!" Rika told her.  
  
"Yeah, be careful," Chiharu echoed. "It's really late at night.don't get lost!"  
  
"Be extra careful of the little snow drones. They come out and attack peo." BONK!  
  
"YAMAZAKI! STOP TELLING LIES!" Chiharu yelled at him.  
  
"Be cautious!" Yamazaki added as an afterthought, his eyes actually opening. He stared at them in concern.  
  
Syaoran scoffed at them all, but inside he was glad that they all cared about them.  
  
"Ja ne!" Sakura waved to them all. Tomoyo, Eriol, Hiyoshi, Meilin, and Syaoran all followed her outside.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"WOW! They weren't kidding when they said that this was a snowstorm!" Sakura yelled over the sound of the wind.  
  
"Ye-yeah," Meilin said, her teeth chattering.  
  
"Here, Release! Warmth card!" Sakura shouted. A tingling of hot heat surrounded them.  
  
"Much better Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo said gleefully.  
  
"Where did you see them Hiyoshi-kun?" Syaoran asked him.  
  
"Well, we were all in the woods," Hiyoshi said thoughtfully. "I think that they might still be in there."  
  
"Alright, should we split up?" Sakura asked everyone.  
  
"Yeah, ok, Eriol-san, you and Tomoyo-chan, Meilin, you and Hiyoshi-kun, and then me and Sakura will go together, ok?" Syaoran issued his commands.  
  
Everyone nodded his or her agreement and then everyone set off.  
  
"Hey, you didn't set everyone up like that randomly, right?" Sakura asked Syaoran suspiciously as they were walking through the woods. The snow had died down to little flutters. She stuck her tongue out to catch a few.  
  
"Well, there's a person with magic in each group, Hiyoshi is with Meilin and Eriol is with Tomoyo."  
  
"Yeah, and so what about us?" Sakura asked.  
  
"What about us?" Syaoran snapped at her.  
  
Sakura involuntarily took a step back. "Oh, never mind," she said softly. So the only reason was because we were the only two people left.I guess he really doesn't care about me.  
  
She ignored her companion's efforts to speak up again, and instead took in her scenery.  
  
"Naoko-chan! Kale-kun! Naoko-chan!"  
  
Where would Michael and Naoko have gone to hide? To get away from the storm, where would be a safe place? Sakura thought.  
  
"Oh, look, Syaoran! There's a cave thing over there. Maybe that's where they went."  
  
"Alright, come on, let's go and check it out."  
  
"Matte." Sakura paused and closed her eyes.  
  
"What is it.oh."  
  
"Do you feel it?"  
  
"Yeah.so, Michael and Naoko or."  
  
"Michael and Naoko of course!" Sakura replied to Syaoran in a shocked voice. "Hiyoshi or Eriol will soon sense it too, and they will be able to handle it. We've gotta get to Michael and Naoko."  
  
"OK."  
  
Sakura ran through the three feet snow fairly quickly and arrived at the cliff.  
  
"Kale-kun! Naoko-chan! Where are you?"  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Naoko!" Michael gently shook her.  
  
She moved sleepily and turned her head slightly in his direction.  
  
"Naoko!" He shook her again.  
  
"Huh?" she asked slowly, her hazel eyes opening slightly.  
  
"I think that Sakura and Syaoran are outside, yelling for us. Ready to go?"  
  
"Yeah," she said drowsily.  
  
"Here, c'mon." Michael picked her up gently, taking care to not wake her up again. He cradled her against his body, gazing down into the face of his own sleeping angel. Then he walked towards the cave entrance, as he came out, he looked into the startled face of Sakura.  
  
"Michael?" she asked hesitantly.  
  
"Yeah," he replied.  
  
"Syaoran!" she yelled out and Michael saw him come up behind Sakura.  
  
"Are you guys OK?" Sakura asked, concerned.  
  
"Yeah, but Naoko-chan's sleeping," Michael said. "How long were we there?"  
  
"Like, the whole day! I was so worried, that I finally got a bunch of us to come out to search for you guys. Everyone else is in the school, sleeping already."  
  
Michael tried to stifle a yawn but was unable to.  
  
Giggling, Sakura tripped over Syaoran who was behind her as she slipped in the snow.  
  
He caught her firmly, and held her tightly in his arms, staring down at her intensely, his honey eyes causing her to tremble slightly, chills going up and down her spine.  
  
"Are you going to be able to walk through this?" he asked her, breaking out of the trance suddenly.  
  
"Of course!" she replied indignantly to him.  
  
"Alright, Michael-kun, need any help?"  
  
"Nope, let's get back then."  
  
Michael grinned at him. "Yeah, well, since our cars are parked inside the parking lot, and the streets look well-plowed right now, can we just go home?"  
  
"Yeah, staying at the school is not what I would call fun." Syaoran agreed. "Wait though, Hiyoshi, Tomoyo, Eriol, and Meilin are still out looking for you."  
  
"OK."  
  
"We're meeting at the big pine tree in ten minutes, in case none of us found you, so let's go."  
  
"Syaoran! The card is still out there!" Sakura whispered to Syaoran.  
  
"I know, but what can we do about it? We can't let Michael or Naoko know about anything."  
  
"All right, but I hope that Hiyoshi and Eriol will get it," Sakura said.  
  
"They will," Syaoran reassured her.  
  
She shook her head, still not sure. "If Naoko and Michael find out, they are reliable enough to not tell anyone, right? Besides, people will find out soon enough, anyway."  
  
"Well." Syaoran was at a loss to what to say.  
  
"Tomoyo-chan and Meilin both know, and neither of them have any magic," Sakura pointed out.  
  
"Yes, but Meilin is a member of the Li Clan and Tomoyo is our unofficial videographer, you know," Syaoran told Sakura.  
  
Through all this, Michael was watching them with a puzzled expression on his face, waiting for them to finish. Naoko was still resting in his arms.  
  
Syaoran shot a glance over at them, then sighed and nodded. "Let's go."  
  
"Where are we going?" Michael asked them, confused.  
  
"Well, we'll explain on the way," Sakura told him.  
  
Running through the woods was not the best thing for Naoko, who was jarred awake. Michael let her down and she glanced at Sakura inquisitively.  
  
"You'll see soon," she replied.  
  
"Here," Syaoran stated as they entered a clearing.  
  
Hiyoshi and Meilin burst in from the left side, and Eriol and Tomoyo burst in from the opposite side at the same time as them.  
  
Sakura stared at everyone with wide eyes. "Hoe!"  
  
"Sakura, watch out!" Syaoran yelled at her.  
  
The card was in the clearing, shooting bolts of ice out of his mouth. Michael and Naoko watched with shock and fear as Sakura and Syaoran dodged numerous shots while Hiyoshi transformed his staff.  
  
"HIYOSHI, HURRY UP!!!" Syaoran screamed at him.  
  
"I'm going man, I'm going!"  
  
"Forces of nature help me to seal this card. Return to your true form, Blizzard card, confine!!!" Hiyoshi yelled out.  
  
The card struggled in Hiyoshi's magical grasp. Suddenly, it put on an extra burst of strength and escaped.  
  
"Baka!" Hiyoshi shouted.  
  
"It's fine," Eriol told Hiyoshi. "You still need a bit of training. You were fine out there, with what little training I have given you."  
  
"Phew!" Sakura wiped her brow. "You know, you get such good workouts from being a Card Captor Mistress." Then she noticed Michael and Naoko still staring at them. She sighed loudly.  
  
"Alright, explain," Michael said firmly.  
  
"It's a really long story." Sakura said.  
  
"Well, let's go back to the cave thing," Syaoran stated.  
  
The snow was slowly stopping and coming down to just a slight sprinkle.  
  
"Alright!" Naoko said enthusiastically. "This is great! I can't wait to put this all down on paper! It's going to make a great story!"  
  
Sakura sweat-dropped. "Hoe!"  
  
Tomoyo and Naoko exchanged smiles.  
  
*~*~*~* Two hours later *~*~*~*  
  
"Wow! Ever since fourth grade? And none of us ever knew about it!" Naoko exclaimed once Sakura had finished explaining.  
  
Sakura blushed. "Well, I couldn't really tell you guys about it, you know. And you guys can't tell anyone else at all."  
  
"We know," Michael said.  
  
"This is going to make one kawaii story!" Naoko said gleefully. "Tomoyo- chan, can I come over sometime to watch all of the captures?"  
  
"Of course!"  
  
"Hey, you guys! The snow's stopped!" Hiyoshi exclaimed.  
  
"Awesome, so should we actually start heading back to the school by now?"  
  
"Yeah, you know, actually, I bet that we're gonna get it big time for not being there, I mean, if they find out that we've been out by ourselves all night, they're gonna get bad ideas. One, we've got guys and girls out here by ourselves.not a good impression. Two, there was a huge storm and we could've gotten lost. Three.whatever," Eriol said.  
  
Everyone smiled as they headed back to school.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Brown-san.what in the world were you thinking when you brought Yanigasawa -san into the woods with you! You could've gotten lost, hurt, injured, or even died in that storm!" the principal raved at him,  
  
"Sensei, I went in with him willingly," Naoko voiced shyly.  
  
" Yanigasawa-san, there is no question in my heart that he forced you to go in with him. Brown-san is a young man headed in the wrong direction in his life. I would advise you to not be seen in his company again. You may leave. Brown-san, as we wait for your father to come in, you may go into my office."  
  
Naoko threw Michael a longing look as she was herded out of the main office.  
  
Outside, Sakura and Syaoran groaned at how the meeting was going.  
  
"Baka!" Syaoran muttered.  
  
"Hai, what do we do now?" Sakura asked softly.  
  
"Wait and see," Eriol muttered.  
  
When Michael came out, an hour later, he had a pained expression on his face.  
  
Sakura immediately knew something bad had happened. Motioning for everyone else to leave, Naoko and Michael were left by themselves in the hallway.  
  
"Naoko. I don't know how to explain this, I'm sorry for causing so much trouble to you," Michael apologized.  
  
"Kale! I love you, it's all right. Now, go on. I know your dad is still in there, I just wish that he wasn't so hard on you sometimes."  
  
"yeah, I know. I.well, I'll call you later, alright?"  
  
"Hai, bye!" Naoko gave him a light kiss on the cheek, surprised by her own boldness. Then she quickly ran down the hallway. Michael stared after her in amazement.  
  
"Michael! Get in here now!" his father thundered.  
  
Sighing, Michael obliged.  
  
* ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
"Hey, you guys, since the school's still out because of the broken heating system, what do you guys want to do?" Sakura asked Tomoyo, Naoko, Chiharu, Rika, and Meilin as they all crowded together in Tomoyo's spacious bedroom. The heating system at their school had been mysteriously broken by 'vandals' is what the news said. But Sakura knew that Hiyoshi and Michael, who were both eager to not go back to school, had 'accidentally' messed up a few pipes in the structure.  
  
"Hmm, you know what? Isn't there a new ski resort up at Mount Fuji? Why don't we go up there for a weekend!" Rika suggested.  
  
"Hey, that sounds like an awesome idea!" Meilin agreed.  
  
"Yeah, I can try out my new skis that I just got!" Naoko added.  
  
"OK, so we're going to the ski resort? Let's ask the guys too, OK?" Tomoyo said.  
  
"Yeah, sure!"  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"No, no, No, NO! Kinomoto-san, you have to KISS HIM! Not pretend to brush his lips! People will be watching you! It's gotta be real! One week before the performance! Why in the world are we having trouble now? Just because there is no school, does not mean that we cut out play practice! And it certainly doesn't mean that you forget your lines or mess anything up!!!"  
  
Sakura shrugged mentally. She had never really had to really get in touch with Michael before. She could tell that he was just as put off with the teacher as she was. Freezing to death, Sakura pulled her coat up higher. The heat was still not working in her school.  
  
"I really think that they can skip that part, I'm sure that Sakura will be able to get it right at the real performance, right?" Tomoyo said quickly.  
  
Grateful, Sakura let out a small sigh. "Hai! I will, I promise Norlina sensei."  
  
"Alright, I guess we can skip over that part for now, but it better be perfect at the performance!!!"  
  
"H.hai!" Sakura said, nervously.  
  
"OK, commence practice again!" Norlina ordered.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"So, Sakura, what happened up there on stage?" Michael asked her as they walked out of school.  
  
"I don't know, I like froze for a second, sorry." "It's ok, but the play is coming up next week, so be prepared. If you want to, we can just cut it out. I know you aren't comfortable with this whole kissing thing."  
  
"No, it's ok. I can get it. Practice again tonight?"  
  
"Hai. See you later." Michael waved as he headed home to do some 'studying' with Naoko.  
  
Syaoran caught up with Sakura as she was exiting the school.  
  
"So, do you have all of your lines memorized, just in case Michael-kun is unable to go on?" Sakura asked Syaoran.  
  
"Yeah, of course. But it's not likely that it's going to happen," Syaoran said, with a trace of sadness in his voice that Sakura barely caught.  
  
She softened, kidding with him, she said, "Hey, you never know. It might."  
  
He grinned back at her. "Don't' do anything special for me, OK?"  
  
"Now why would I ever do anything for you?" she retorted.  
  
"Hey! That cut deep into my heart! Ahh! I'm dying! The cruel Sakura has killed me!" Syaoran said, faking a sad face.  
  
Sakura rolled her eyes at him as she skated ahead of him, spun around and skated backwards, and then professionally slammed into a wall.  
  
Smirking, Syaoran helped her up.  
  
"You're going to go on the trip with everyone to Mount Fuji too, right?" Sakura asked him.  
  
"I guess," he answered.  
  
"Sugoi!" Sakura replied in happiness. "Now everyone will be there! Tomoyo- chan's okaa-san has prearranged rooms for us, and I think that we'll get to be there all by ourselves."  
  
"Honto ne? Sugoi!" Syaoran said enthusiastically.  
  
"Hai!"  
  
"Well, I've gotta go now, see you later."  
  
Sakura waved to him as they parted ways.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Michael Jakib Brown!" Naoko yelled at him, using his full American name. "What is going on? I just heard that you were caught stealing form 7-11, again! What is happening to you? Plus, I know your grades are slipping too! You're so much more smarter than me, so what's going on?"  
  
"Nothing," Michael said, flashing her his patented 100-watt smile. It didn't faze her.  
  
"Don't give me that crap. I deserve to know Michael. What's going on?" Her voice had softened. She didn't like yelling at people and she usually didn't raise her voice, unless she was telling a spooky story and freaking Sakura out.  
  
"Nothing," Michael repeated. His mind was whirling. I can't tell her anything! Not yet. Bu what if she found the notebook? Does she know anything at all? I didn't think that anyone at school knew that I had been in trouble before, sides Tristan and Tomaki, of course. Dang, why is she so persistent? Hey, that's what I like about her. I did try to change, but GOD Dad makes it so damn hard!  
  
"Oh Michael! I can't believe that you don't trust me well enough to tell me what's wrong!" Naoko said, half-angry with him and half-hurt that he wouldn't tell her. She whirled around and dashed home.  
  
"Naoko." Michael sighed. Shit! Now what do I do? He didn't have time to do anything else though, as his father pulled up next to him in his black limo.  
  
Damn it!  
  
"Michael Jakib Brown!" his father said in a quiet threatening tone. Michael sighed. It was the second time in one day that someone had called him by his full American name.  
  
"I just had a call from your sensei in Math, on how you got a D on your most recent algebra quiz. You'd better have a good explanation for this, and I am very disappointed in you!"  
  
"Umm.dad, I've really got a lot of homework and we're right in the middle of traffic," Michael stammered. His father ignored him and motioned for one of his bodyguards to pull Michael into the limo. Horns beeping and cars out of control around them, they pulled out.  
  
"Kinomoto, to my house, now!" Steven Brown commanded. He was the executive president for the international company of Jazzy Colors, which manufactured clothes for young kids.  
  
Touya was glad that he had landed a job working for this multi-millionaire, even though he was a foreigner. He spoke decent enough Japanese, and Touya was discreetly listening to their conversation in English. He could just barely make out the jist of it with his minor English.  
  
"Dad, the crappy teacher."  
  
"You will address him as Senjivo-sensei and there is to be no profanity in this car, or anywhere near me, ever, understood?"  
  
"Yeah, whatever. So Senjivo-sensei doesn't teach you anything in his class! Like, the entire class failed, I was one of the people who got a better grade and he hates my living guts anyway!"  
  
"I don't care what the class got, what matters is that you got a D! And that is just not acceptable!"  
  
Michael rolled his eyes as his father lectured him some more.  
  
"And if you do not shape up soon, I will be forced to send you back home." This jolted Michael back to his senses.  
  
"You mean back home, with Mom and Azalea?" Michael asked, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice.  
  
"No, more like boot camp to shape you up."  
  
"Dad, I play soccer, basketball, and volleyball. I don't need to get into shape!" Michael protested, even though he knew what his father had been talking about. .  
  
"I want better results, starting next week. I know exactly what type of trouble you and Tristan have been getting into too. You should make some more friends here. The point of bringing you here was to introduce you to the business here and to get acquainted with this society here."  
  
"Oh yeah Dad! I love it here!" Michael said sarcastically. "Dad, I have friends, and being dragged to formal meetings every night isn't fun either! What if I don't shape up? Huh? You gonna send me home! Did it ever occur to you that maybe I want to go home? That I'm doing this on purpose?" Michael was screaming by now.  
  
He pulled on the emergency brakes, even though Touya was stopping already, and jumped out, leaving his father sputtering in anger and disbelief at the fading figure of his son in the distance.  
  
Wisely, Touya stayed silent.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Wow, that Michael kid of Steven Brown had a really big attitude!" Touya commented to Sakura as he walked in through their front door.  
  
"Hoe? You know Kale-kun? I mean, Michael?" Sakura asked Touya.  
  
"Yeah, I'm working as a chauffeur for his dad now as my job. And Yukito is working as his gardener. So we're still together, of course."  
  
"Hoe! Working for his father! I never knew that."  
  
"Well, I've been busy with my exams and working, and you're busy with that play of yours, so we never see each other that much, you know. How's my little kaijou doing?" Touya asked her affectionately.  
  
"I'm fine, the play's OK."  
  
"Hey, wait a minute. Isn't that Michael the same one that came to our house last time? The one that you're rehearsing with? That you'll be kissing and stuff? If he is, I definitely don't want you hanging out with that kid."  
  
"What happened then?" Sakura asked as Touya started to head for the food that Sakura had just made.  
  
"Well.hey, you know what? That chicken looks really good!"  
  
"None for you, until you tell me!" Sakura demanded.  
  
"Sakura-chan, you need to show some respect for your 'nii-chan, don't you think? I mean, he just got home from long and hard work, and I think that he needs some food before he talks."  
  
Sakura glared at him. "Alright, here."  
  
"OK, now, I found out that he was caught stealing from 7-11 and also he's got bad grades."  
  
"Kale-kun! He's like, the smartest guy at school!"  
  
"Not from what I've heard," Touya said, mouth full with food. Suddenly Sakura glanced at her watch.  
  
"Oh no! I was supposed to meet Kale-kun ten minutes ago at the park!"  
  
"Be careful, Sakura-chan!" her brother called after her.  
  
"Hey, bro, you got any pancakes?" Kero asked him as he came flying down. The one good thing about Touya knowing about him was that there was another person in the house that would be able to feed him.  
  
Touya grinned as he started to make some batter for the pancakes. "Not for you, stuffed animal."  
  
"I AM NOT A STUFFED ANIMAL!!!" Kero pouted loudly.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Sakura half-ran, half-skated to the park. It's the totally popular place to be now. She thought sarcastically as she couldn't see a single person in it. She sat down on a bench and waited for Michael to appear.  
  
Her cell rang, and she quickly picked it up. "Kinomoto Sakura, moshi moshi?"  
  
"Sakura-chan!" came a tearful voice.  
  
"Naoko-chan? What's wrong?"  
  
"It's Kale-kun. He's not telling me anything! I'm really worried about him because of his grades, and he's been stealing Sakura-chan! And he just keeps pushing me away!"  
  
"Relax Naoko-chan. He know that he loves you. He's probably just going through some hard times. You can't push him, he'll tell you in due time. Don't worry."  
  
"Alright. Thanks Sakura-chan. You're so good at helping everyone out with our problems. Domo arigato!"  
  
"OK. Don't worry about Kale-san, I think that he's going to get a reprimand soon, and he's a smart guy, he won't get caught again. You'd better go get some sleep. Sayonara."  
  
"Bye," Naoko said.  
  
"Sakura!" Michael came running up to her. "Sorry, I was umm.caught up in some stuff."  
  
"What is wrong with you?" Sakura countered sharply.  
  
"Huh?" Michael was caught by surprise.  
  
"OK, Michael, you've been totally ignoring Naoko, and she's really hurt. Can you tell me what's going on?" Sakura asked him.  
  
Michael sighed. "Sakura."  
  
"Michael.c'mon. Your grades are slipping, you've been caught stealing, you're totally ignoring Naoko-chan, and you aren't even telling me anything!"  
  
"Oh, alright. It was a while ago.back when I was still living in the States. Tristan and I were the best of friends along with another guy, Kevin Monaco. Tristan, Kevin, and me were always together. We had everything planned out for our future. We were all going together to a private high school, St Joe's together. And then on to college. We figured that we would be together forever. But then my dad stepped in, and told me that he wanted me to o with him to his business here, in Japan. I was really pissed because I didn't want to come. Tristan and Kevin were both allowed to come, but Kevin didn't because his parents didn't want to not see him for like, 4 years, and he's bored very easily. Once I got here, with Tristan, I t wasn't that bad. Tristan and me went to the skating park, like everyday. But then my dad really started to bug me about how I was wasting my time, and I didn't even really want to be here, and he wouldn't allow me to go back to visit my mom or sister, Azalea. My dad really wants me to take over the family business, but I don't' want to. My stepbrother, Carter is actually interested in this kind of stuff, and he's smarter than me too. So, my plan with him and Tristan is for us to get my dad to send us back home, and then get Carter to come here to help my dad, and he will do a good job, then my dad will make him the heir guy. Me, I just want to draw and get away from the world with it."  
  
"But stealing?" Sakura burst out. "C'mon, Michael, have you gone crazy? You are so much better than that. You've got so much going for you, why are you messing everything up now? Have you even tried to talk your father about this?"  
  
Michael laughed. "My father? Yeah right! Like he's gonna understand? He never has!"  
  
"Maybe I should talk to him. As your friend, maybe he'll understand."  
  
"Yeah right! He doesn't even know that I have friends here."  
  
"Nani? But all those parties that you have every year! Everyone goes to those, they're like, the biggest thing and everyone flaunts their invitations!"  
  
"Well, he never knows. He's too busy with work and he's at his office like 24/7 and if I don't tell him, then he never knows. Heh, like the servants are going to tell him anything at all."  
  
Sakura shook her head at Michael. "But what's with hurting Naoko like that? She thought maybe you guys actually had something, and so did I. I guess someone turned chicken."  
  
Michael's pained expression made Sakura soften.  
  
"Gomen ne Kale-san. But Naoko-chan is very hurt. You can't just leave her hanging here! You told me before how you love her, so why are you doing this to her?"  
  
"I don't want to hurt her when I leave. If we got together, and I was made to leave, she'd be heartbroken. I wouldn't be able to stand that."  
  
"And how do you think she feels now?" Sakura snapped at him. "Just like you to do this to her! Onegai, fix this before you leave. I know she won't be mad at you. She loves you, and love overcomes all things. Michael, go to her."  
  
"But what about play.."  
  
"Go. I'm fine, and Syaoran knows all of your lines."  
  
"Oh, yeah, I know you'd be much happier if you were kissing him, right?" Michael taunted her.  
  
Blushing, Sakura pushed him forward, towards Naoko's house, trying to wipe that smirk off his face.  
  
"Go!"  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
As Michael rang the doorbell, he silently he cursed his guilty nature. He rang the doorbell again. The door swung open and Naoko stood there, fixing her hair, dressed in a pair of khakis and a plain black shirt, not seeing Michael clearly yet. "Hello?" As she glanced up, she gasped in surprise.  
  
"Hey Naoko-chan." Michael said.  
  
Her surprise quickly turned to anger. She slammed the door in his face.  
  
Michael's face showed defeat, but he rang the doorbell again and pounded heavily on the door. He was determined not to give up. "Naoko! C'mon, it's only me. Open up!"  
  
Finally, as he was about to leave, the door opened. "What do you want?" she asked him coolly.  
  
"Hey, Naoko, I.um.know that I.well.I.haven't.I'm really sorry about how I've been acting." There, it was out. "I know that I haven't been the best lately, but I've been really occupied. Please, forgive me!"  
  
"Explain first, please," Naoko said, but she was already weakening. So Michael told her the entire story, about how he was homesick, how he wanted to leave, and how he didn't want her to be sad over him.  
  
Naoko stared at Michael hard for a minute, absorbing everything in.  
  
Then she slapped him full-force across the face. Wincing, Michael turned away, dejected.  
  
"What was that for? Well.I guess I deserve that. I should really go now. I'll see you later."  
  
Then he felt Naoko's hand touch his shoulder, briefly, but tenderly. He turned back around, inquisitively. Naoko flung her arms around his shoulder.  
  
"For being as stupid as thinking that I still won't love you, even if you are so far away," she whispered into his ear. "I love you Michael, and nothing will ever change that, no matter the distance or anything."  
  
Michael wrapped his arms around her slim figure. "I love you too, Naoko." Staring tenderly at each other, he captured her lips quickly with another kiss.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Hey, the snow is awesome, covering everything! It's a good thing we had a snowstorm with before the trip," Eriol commented, giving Sakura an extra- special smile.  
  
She reddened under his gaze. "Hoe." It wasn't my fault that I wanted to have a cool weekend.  
  
"Yeah! This is great skiing weather!" Chiharu said enthusiastically.  
  
"Hey, did you know that in the olden days, the ancient Chinese built these wooden tunnels that they used as obstacles for their prisoners and whoever made it past was spared, but they killed off those who didn't make it," Yamazaki said, running off before Chiharu reached him.  
  
"YAMAZAKI! COME BACK HERE! STOP TELLING LIES!"  
  
Everyone laughed.  
  
"Tomoyo-chan, did your mother really get the resort all for us only?" Meilin asked her.  
  
"Hai! Okaa-san is friends with the manager, so she agreed to help okaa-san out. It's great! I can't wait to go skiing, and they have great paths and even a ski lift and everything!"  
  
"YOSHA!" Yamazaki suddenly shouted, scaring everyone half to death.  
  
"YAMAZAKI! Shut up!" Chiharu yelled as she bonked him on the head again. Grinning slightly at everyone, Yamazaki laughed it off.  
  
  
  
OK-done with this chapter. I've been trying not to make my chapters too long, so some of them might seem cut off a bit. Gomen ne!! PS-Yeah, I know that I am concentrating more on N+M and not S+S. but I want to get N+M out of the way so I can get more S+S and some E+T too. And maybe a bit of C+T. R+R! Michael's gonna go in the next chapter, but I think he'll appear again, but after this, S+S is what I'll be concentrating on. And I do know that Jazzy Colors is the corniest name, but nope, I am not a creative person with a lot of patience and time to go think of something cool. O yeah, a question, do you want to have the play happen first, or do you want Sakura and Syaoran to have their first kiss? I need help in deciding that, it'll come into play later on. And I know this story is a bit crappy now, I am running out of ideas and not really paying attention to what I'm writing right now.gomen nasi!  
  
~RubyGurl 


	12. Blizzard of Love

Disclaimer- I don't own.  
  
J, thanks for your support! And thanks to everyone who reviewed! It gives authors so much support!  
  
BCzeon27, I took your point, and you should be happy to see that I have changed the summary of my story. It was a bit old and umm.to say the best, really bad. I hadn't even realized how bad it was till I looked at it. I'm surprised people still read my story. Anyway.on to the real stuff:  
  
Chapter 12- Blizzard of Love  
  
"Hoe! Are we almost there yet, Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked her best friend for the almost millionth time. Everyone else looked expectantly at Tomoyo.  
  
They were all exhausted to the bone except for Tomoyo, whose buoyant spirit at being able to ski made her happy, Syaoran, whose training had prepared him for such trips as this, and Eriol, who would never appear exhausted, even if he was.who know.  
  
They were all climbing up the steep path to the resort, which was high up in the mountains. They had all unfortunately been persuaded by Tomoyo to have a nice climb up the mountain, which they had now realized was about two miles to climb.  
  
"We've only got three hundred more feet to go!" Tomoyo announced excitedly to the gang.  
  
Sighing, the group continued with their trip, Sakura going starry-eyed. "Two more miles! HOE!" Kero, in her backpack, munched contentedly on cookies, enjoying the warm and comfy ride up the mountain.  
  
"In this recent weather forecast, we are reporting that there is a major unexpected blizzard headed our way to Tomoeda, please stay inside your homes at all costs. This seems like a big one, please be prepared with extra food and candles in case electricity goes out or food. Watch out!!"  
  
"Konnichiwa! Welcome to the Snow-Tree Resort!" a plump woman greeted the gang of friends as they finally arrived at the top of the mountain, the end of their endless trek. "I'm Natashi Miki. Pleased to have you here, but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to leave you up here by yourselves. I need to run down back to Tokyo because my mother is sick. Is that alright? I'll show you around first, and tell you where everything is. I will be back tomorrow night definitely."  
  
"That's fine," Tomoyo replied, exchanging secret glances with Eriol. "It's perfect up here!"  
  
"Alright, let's go!"  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Whoo!" Sakura yelled out as she 'calmly' skied down the steep mountain, almost crashing into several trees and barely avoiding Naoko, Rika, and Chiharu.  
  
"Be careful Sakura-chan!" everyone yelled at her.  
  
"Hoe!!!"  
  
Michael was watching Syaoran critically. "Syaoran, you do know how to ski, don't you?"  
  
"Hai!" Syaoran answered quickly, face reddening in contrast as he recalled a certain ski trip that had happened in fourth grade.  
  
Coolly, Eriol sped down the hill in a graceful and fluid movement, coming up to a smooth landing besides Sakura at the bottom of the mountain.  
  
Dressed in a black ski outfit, Hiyoshi looked every bit in the attire of a criminal. He was also an elegant skier. He gently helped Meilin on the cross-country trails with a tenderness that he never showed anyone else.  
  
Later that day, there was a downhill race, all of the guys against each other.  
  
"Alright, start!" Meilin yelled up from the bottom of the mountain.  
  
WHOOSH! The boys sped off. Eriol and Michael were battling for first place in the beginning, but they began to be overtaken soon by Hiyoshi and Syaoran.  
  
"Go Syaoran-kun!" Sakura screamed out.  
  
"Whoo! Michael, show those guys some stuff of yours!" Naoko yelled.  
  
"Go Eriol!" Tomoyo cheered as she continued to videotape them, though her obsession was slowly dying away. She loved to sing more now than tape her model, Sakura, though she never missed a chance to tape still.  
  
"YAMAZAKI! Move your butt!" Chiharu bellowed down the mountain.  
  
"Hey, guys, it looks like there's going to be a storm soon," Naoko pointed out as she saw a black cloud moving their way.  
  
"Aww, it's probably just a light snow shower."  
  
At the bottom of the mountain, Hiyoshi had been the first one down, but he had 'accidentally' run Meilin over.  
  
Boling mad with rage, she glared at him. "DISQUALIFIED FOR RUNNING THE JUDGE OVER! Brown-kun is the winner, and Syaoran and Eriol tie for second and Yamazaki comes in a close third."  
  
"But it was an accident!" Hiyoshi pleaded with her, giving her his patented puppy look.  
  
"No! Brown-san won this one, fair and square, and he didn't run me over," Meilin declared, trying hard to keep the smile from creeping up to her face.  
  
"Am I forgiven?" he appealed to Meilin some more. "Please, I'm really really really really sorry! Onegai, Li-chan!"  
  
"No.well.alright," Meilin complied.  
  
"Domo arigato Li-chan!" Hiyoshi said, giving her a wide grin. Meilin nodded, but she noted that he was still calling her by her formal name.  
  
"You guys! The snow! It's coming down harder, let's get back to the main cabin!" Tomoyo shouted to the gang.  
  
Quickly, everyone made his or her way back to the cabin. As they were all drying off in front of the warm fire, Sakura stared out the window.  
  
The snow had come down even harder, completely blinding her view of everything outside.  
  
"I guess we're snowbound here," Syaoran announced to the whole group.  
  
"Hey, this'll be awesome!" Naoko said, showing all of her enthusiasm. "I've never been snowbound before! We can explore this place out, doesn't it look freaky?"  
  
"Yeah, maybe this place is haunted!" Chiharu chimed in. Naoko and Chiharu exchanged evil glances and then grinned at the look that they saw on Sakura's face.  
  
"Hoe? Haunted?" Sakura asked, gripping Syaoran's hand tighter. He grinned as he noticed that her fingernails were leaving imprints on his hand.  
  
"Hai! And the ghost will come out and get you in the middle of the night. It especially likes it when its victims are snowbound, because then they have nowhere else to go. And its victims are usually green-eyes girls with auburn hair!" Yamazaki added.  
  
For once, Chiharu didn't stop him, everyone was laughing too hard at the look on Sakura's face.  
  
Giggling, the entire group made their own way back to their separate rooms to sleep.  
  
* ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
In her own room, Sakura couldn't concentrate. She kept hearing sounds. She didn't know if they were in her imagination or if they were actually real sounds. Kero was fast asleep, and she knew how cranky he would be if she woke him up now.  
  
Finally, unable to endure it any longer, she silently crept next door to Syaoran's room.  
  
Syaoran, who was also awake, kept still as he felt Sakura's presence leave her room.  
  
IWhere in the world is she going now? I He asked himself.  
  
As he felt her heading his way, he sensed that he was tensing up. He blushed, thankful for the cover of darkness.  
  
"Syaoran-kun?" he heard her light voice float through the room to him as she lightly knocked.  
  
"Hai?" he asked her. "Come in." He heard the creaking of the door opening.  
  
"I.I couldn't really sleep. Is it alright if I stay with you for awhile?" Sakura asked, trying to keep calm. She had only seen Syaoran without a shirt on a few times, and it had never been this late at night. Her breathing quickened a bit and she noticed how his chest glimmered in the moonlight that streamed through the window, while the storm raged outside.  
  
"Of course!" Syaoran replied, though he noticed that his voice quavered a bit.  
  
Settling down on the other side of his bed, Syaoran noticed that Sakura was shivering. She was wearing pink, silk pajamas that were fairly thin.  
  
"Go on, get into the covers," he ordered her as he himself nestled deeper in also. He wasn't that cold; even without his shirt on, since he had had so much training, but he could feel the warmth from Sakura, and he wanted to be near her too.  
  
"But."  
  
"Sakura, you're going to freeze to death if you're going to stay here, so what's the point of that? Just get in."  
  
"Gomen ne for bothering you," she whispered to Syaoran as she shyly pulled the covers up to her and slid inside.  
  
He couldn't reply for a moment, astounded that Sakura was so close to him. "Oh, that's OK. I wasn't sleeping anyway. What's worrying you?"  
  
"Oh, nothing really. I was just wondering what we're going to do now that we're snowed in here. I guess we're going to have to spend New Year's here too, right? It's the day after tomorrow."  
  
"Really?" Syaoran asked her.  
  
"Yeah, and.Syaoran.do you feel it?"  
  
"Hai. I do. Do you want to go out to capture it now though?"  
  
"I don't know what'll happen if I don't.and I don't know if I should go out to capture it now."  
  
"Sakura, whatever you do, promise me that you won't go out by yourself," Syaoran said, worry accidentally entering his voice.  
  
Sakura slowly rolled onto her other side to look at him. His hazel eyes were wide in concern for her.  
  
"Promise me?" he whispered.  
  
"Hai," she replied, puzzled at how he was acting. Still cold, she shivered again, subconsciously, then protested as Syaoran moved closer to her, enclosing her in his arms.  
  
"I'm not that cold!" she objected, but she could hardly talk and her voice was muffled against his bare chest. She could feel his muscles, chiseled into his torso, underneath her. Her face was pressed firmly against Syaoran's upper body. She took a deep breath. She had never been so close to him before, and she was getting a bit nervous.  
  
"Sakura, will you ever learn that it's alright for you to show your weaknesses?" Syaoran whispered into her ear, lightly nuzzling it, making her breathing quicken immensely.  
  
Sakura lifted her head up, curious as to why he was behaving this way. "Syaoran-kun?" she asked softly.  
  
"Hai?"  
  
"Why are you.doing like this to me? I mean it's not like you have a responsibility, to me or anything. Shouldn't you be back in Hong Kong? Why did you come back?"  
  
Syaoran paused, unsure of what to say. He unconsciously pressed Sakura closer to him, as if afraid of losing her and making sure that she was near him. She searched his eyes questioningly as she lovingly reached her hands up to play with his hair.  
  
"Sakura." Syaoran suddenly realized how close together they were entwined. She had her arms around his neck, and he had hers around her waist. Their legs were instinctively wrapped around each other, and her head was gently nestled in the crook of his neck. He realized that he didn't want this to end and something else important too.  
  
"Hai?" her voice drew him back to reality.  
  
Staring deep into her eyes, he realized that tears were forming in his eyes.  
  
"Syaoran?" Sakura asked startled as she noticed his tears. Was he crying for her?  
  
"I don't want to lose you, Sakura," he whimpered to her.  
  
"Sakura stared at him, surprised to see him lose his self-control and cry.  
  
As she gently brushed away a tear, she gained some confidence, and tenderly, she kissed away a tear from his face. He felt nothing but gentle compassion from her.  
  
"Syaoran," she murmured to him.  
  
He gazed at her with a new understanding. As he lifted her face up towards his, an alarm went off in the back of his head. But he just saw her lips, her soft, yielding lips, slightly parted, open just to him.  
  
Sakura was spellbound. Syaoran was suspended slightly above her, his gentle breath sending more chills down her spine. And she knew that it wasn't from the cold.  
  
Suddenly, a sound of glass breaking reached their ears. Sakura started, pulling Syaoran down closer to her, gripping his shirt tightly, as she felt wind drifting down to her. Glass particles whipped past her, missing her face by a few inches, forced along the wind.  
  
"Baka!" Syaoran whispered. He jumped up, gently letting go of Sakura, motioning for her to stay put.  
  
"Fuuka Shorai!" he yelled out.  
  
"Syaoran," Sakura whispered to him. She was cold, but she couldn't let him deal with this on his own. She crawled out of the bed to Syaoran's side. The wind was cruelly slamming pieces of glass into him, embedding some of them deep into him.  
  
"Shield card! Release!" Sakura shouted out.  
  
Immediately, a shelter that held off the glass surrounded them, blocking all of the ferocious battering from the tiny particles of glass.  
  
"Syaoran, your face, are you alright?" Sakura asked him gently as she knelt down beside him.  
  
He looked up at her, blood trickling down his face, smiling grimly. "I'm fine, Sakura. But what is this one now. Blizzard is outside. It's working together with another card. Which one?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Think Sakura!" he begged her.  
  
"Well.it's.wind.but I've already got Windy.it's spinning glass chips at us.is it Tornado? No. I got it! Whirlwind!"  
  
"Then c'mon Sakura! Capture it already!"  
  
"Spirit of the dark forces, return to the form by contract, I Sakura, command you! Whirlwind!" Sakura shouted out loud over the roar of the wind.  
  
Her staff dropped in midair and it began sucking the wind into a form of a card.  
  
Finally, the card dropped down to land gently on the floor. Exhausted, Sakura dropped down to the floor. Syaoran softly called out some words in Cantonese and the window above them magically fixed itself.  
  
Outside, the storm raged even harder, angry that that Card Mistress had defeated her friend.  
  
Sakura glanced up at Syaoran, realizing that his face was still bleeding.  
  
"Syaoran! Your face, we need to get bandages and."Syaoran silenced her by pressing his finger to her lips gently. She resisted the urge to shiver underneath his touch, but it was what was happening to her. Chills were traveling up and down her spine just by that one touch.  
  
"But."  
  
"It's OK, Sakura. Let's get some sleep."  
  
"If you're sure?"  
  
"Hai."  
  
"Alright."Sakura slowly crawled back into bed. She was exhausted, and if Syaoran was sure.  
  
She reached out her arms and put them around Syaoran's neck, laying her head in the crook of his shoulder, and she was comfortably lying next to him.  
  
"Good night Syaoran," she whispered to him.  
  
"Night, Sakura," he murmured back to her, also half-asleep. He smiled at his Cherry Blossom adoringly. He would never take advantage of her in such a situation like this. He barely felt the scratches on his face from the glass specks. His arms went around her too. He allowed himself a tiny smile before he drifted off to sleep as he realized that it would look really bad in the morning when everyone found them like that, but he was too tired to care. He drifted off to Dreamland with thoughts of Sakura.  
  
* ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
"Ohayou Syaoran-kun! Ohayou Sakura-chan! Matte.Sakura-chan?"  
  
Syaoran sleepily opened his eyes, blinking them hazily at Meilin. He could feel Sakura still next to him.  
  
"Meilin-chan?" Sakura asked drowsily.  
  
"Hai! What in the world are you two doing together in the same bed?" she asked them, a smile creeping to her face.  
  
Sakura and Syaoran blushed simultaneously, as they saw that they were still sleeping next to each other. Quickly, they both sat up.  
  
"Meilin, what are you doing here?" Syaoran growled at her, half mad that she had woken him up, half embarrassed that she had caught him and Sakura together on the same bed.  
  
"Good morning to you too, Syaoran! I came to wake you up! Tomoyo and the rest of us are thinking about exploring the cabin. The storm is still raging outside. But this.wow, I didn't know you guys were this close already!"  
  
"Honestly, Meilin-chan, this isn't what it looks like!" Sakura pleaded with her. "I was really worried about something, so I came over to talk to Syaoran about it. Then I guess I just fell asleep."  
  
"Sakura-chan, you have to do better than that!" Meilin said, knowing that it was probably the truth, but not ready to let them get away yet. She smiled evilly. "You are such a bad liar!"  
  
"Meilin, get out!" Syaoran yelled at her.  
  
"Hmm, now, isn't this the second time that I've caught you two together? What is up? Syaoran, why don't you ever tell me anything? I didn't know you and Sakura-chan were already dating! Why doesn't anyone tell me anything? Sheesh, and I thought that we were getting close Sakura-chan, and Syaoran! I'm your cousin! How dare you keep such privileged information from me?"  
  
"Meilin! Shut up!" Syaoran said, getting up and stalking towards her. Laughing, she quickly ran out and slammed the door behind her.  
  
"Syaoran, are you alright?" Sakura asked him. He nodded. She smiled as she saw his face. There were no traces of scabs or any scratches on his face at all.  
  
"Healed during the night, right?"  
  
"Hai," he replied.  
  
"So." Sakura could feel her face getting hotter and she knew that she was blushing. She was avoiding Syaoran's eyes on purpose, unable to look at him.  
  
Syaoran was suddenly aware that he wasn't wearing a shirt. He knew Sakura wasn't looking at him intentionally, but he didn't know why. What had he done wrong?  
  
"Sakura?"  
  
"Umm.Syaoran, I really need to go back to my room, I'll see you at breakfast!" Sakura quickly ran out of the room without a backwards glance.  
  
Syaoran sat down on his bed heavily. IWhy do I always have to screw everything up?I He asked himself.  
  
Unseen by either Sakura or Syaoran, a pair of silver eyes watched everything. A wicked laugh rang out in another room, gleefully anticipating what would happen next.  
  
* ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
Sakura sighed as she walked out of her shower. IWhy do I always mess up everything?I She asked herself.  
  
She stared at herself in the mirror. A pale face with wide emerald eyes surrounded by auburn hair looked back at her.  
  
She sighed again as she rummaged through her luggage, searching for something suitable to wear.  
  
IWhy in the world do I always freeze when I'm near Syaoran? Why does he always make me feel so.so.different? She asked herself. Why do I always make mistakes?I  
  
"Sakura-chan? What's wrong? What'd that Chinese brat do this time?" Kero asked her.  
  
"Nothing. I just didn't get enough sleep."  
  
"Yeah, speaking of that, where were you last night? I couldn't find you this morning!" Kero thundered at Sakura.  
  
Meekly, she smiled brightly and ignored Kero's question.  
  
"You didn't go into the Chinese brat's room, did you? I mean, like, since you were cold of something?" Kero asked evilly and Sakura squirmed under his piercing gaze. He knew exactly what had happened. He wasn't the guardian of the Clow book for nothing. He had snuck out this morning and spotted the two friends together on the bed. He knew that nothing had happened since there were no clothes strewn about, and they were both just holding onto each other tightly, as if they were both afraid of losing each other.  
  
Grinning, Kero decided to be nice, for a change, and stopped teasing Sakura, whose face was turning a bright red.  
  
She tried on a pair of gray sweatpants and a pink t-shirt. Then she realized that she was freezing. Quickly, she pulled a white sweatshirt over her head and went down to breakfast.  
  
Tomoyo shot her a quick wink as she spied Sakura coming down. She was sitting with Eriol, Hiyoshi, and Meilin.  
  
Michael, Naoko, and Rika were sitting at another table, and Leisa, Kent, Kasumi were at the table next to them. Sakura sat down at a table with Chiharu and Yamazaki.  
  
Of course, once Syaoran came down, he was stuck without a seat. Everyone started laughing at him. As Syaoran turned bright red, Sakura quickly pulled up a chair for him at her table. Mumbling thanks, Syaoran sat down and quickly ate.  
  
"Hey, so, after this, we're going to go explore this cabin, OK?" Tomoyo told everyone. The storm raged even harder outside.  
  
Sakura met Eriol's eyes, and they immediately told her that he knew about the card too. Nodding, she agreed to go outside.  
  
Discreetly, she nudged Syaoran.  
  
"Eh?" he growled at her.  
  
"Umm.I want to go outside," she told him quietly. Glancing at her, he realized what she was doing. Nodding, he stood up.  
  
"Sakura and I are going to go on a quick walk, we'll be back soon," he told everyone.  
  
Then he calmly walked over to a surprised Hiyoshi.  
  
"And keep an eye on Meilin, just in case anything happens, got it?" he said. Hiyoshi nodded in submission and gave Syaoran a quick smile, telling him that they would be fine.  
  
Leisa shot Sakura and Syaoran a very angry glare as they walked out, but neither of them noticed.  
  
* ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
Sakura shivered slightly outside. The wind was blowing strongly at them. Syaoran held her steadily against the wind.  
  
"Sakura! Focus your energy!" he snapped at her.  
  
Peering through the storm, Sakura blinked at him sadly. He seemed so distant to her this morning.  
  
"Warmth card, release!" she shouted out. The card slowly seeped out and surrounded Syaoran and her with a tingling of heat. Smiling at Syaoran slightly, Sakura realized the card out there was scared. It was trying to keep Sakura away from her because it was afraid of being sealed up. The powerful blizzard that it was controlling was meant to help it to keep hidden.  
  
Sakura stepped away from Syaoran, slowly moving down a hill covered in snow.  
  
"Sakura!" Syaoran cried out in surprise as he tried to move after her, but he discovered that he was embedded in the ground.  
  
"Sakura!" he cried out again, in frustration. Her magic had gotten stronger than he realized.  
  
She turned and gave him a faint smile before she disappeared completely out of his view.  
  
"Baka!" he cursed. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to her.  
  
"Sakura! You promised!" he yelled out to her, but he knew that his words would be lost in the wind.  
  
Quickly, he tried to come up with a way to escape from the magic that Sakura had put on him.  
  
* ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
Shivering in the cold, Sakura once again berated herself for leaving the Warmth card with Syaoran, then she once again remembered that he would've probably froze outside, since her was stuck in the ground.  
  
II had to leave him there!I she told herself once again. Finally, she reached the beginning of the core of the storm. She could faintly see the fairy floating around inside. Taking a deep breath, she entered in, and she was immediately attacked by gusts of wind and she was blown around.  
  
"Syaoran!" she screamed out loudly, then she remembered that she had tied him down.  
  
Sakura was left without any options.  
  
"Please! Blizzard card, please! Stop it!" Sakura pleaded with it as she shivered again.  
  
"Onegai! I don't want to hurt you, you are hurting more people than you realize! I'm a great Card Mistress, I hope. Even though I know Syaoran doesn't think so," Sakura said the last part quietly, as though she had been holding it in too long.  
  
Longingly, she sat down on the snow-covered ground, ignoring everything around her.  
  
"I don't understand him at all. He seems like such a great person, I felt for sure that we had something going last night, but I am just so confused over him. Does he love me? Why isn't he back in Hong Kong? Is he here just to torture me over the fact that he's back? Why is this so complicated?" Sakura asked the air exasperatedly.  
  
The storm lessened in intensity a bit, and Sakura looked up to see a very curious Blizzard fairy listening to her intently.  
  
It nodded to Sakura and spoke in a light, feathery voice.  
  
I"I'm ready to be sealed up, Card Mistress. I'm sorry for all the pain that I caused," I she apologized. Smiling, Sakura shook her head.  
  
"You didn't do anything," she said.  
  
Quickly, Sakura sealed it up and let out a sigh.  
  
Unknown to her and hidden by his own magic, a very pale Syaoran had heard everything that she had just said.  
  
He was torn between rushing out and wrapping her in a hug to just pretending that he had never escaped her magic.  
  
Sakura.  
  
Uh-oh.I'm probably going to be missing a lot of facts.so these few chapters are going to be really disoriented. Please don't flame.Gomen.  
  
Yeah, I know I'm evil! Muahahahaha! Sakura and Syaoran were just so close! This far apart! *holds up index finger and thumb really really really close* Don't hurt me! And should Syaoran and Sakura have their first kiss by themselves? Or should Tomoyo videotape 'em again? I think that they shouldn't have Tomoyo with them just because it's such a special moment, but I could be wrong. Anayway answer please, don't worry, first kiss coming up in next chapter, or very very soon, I promise!  
  
~Ruby 


	13. Calling out to the Lost

Chapter 13- Calling out to the Lost  
  
"Cousin! She has defeated yet another one of our cards! Soon there will only be a few left."  
  
"Yes, but they will be the most difficult ones. She will think that they will be even easier; yet, the next one that I will send out is Betrayal. How will she overcome that?"  
  
"Betrayal? But who is the one to be betrayed? Or who is the betrayer?"  
  
"That will be up to the card to choose." Leisa ended.  
  
* ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
Sighing, Sakura glanced out of a gloomy window in the main cabin. It was still snowing hard, and she was still unsure about where Syaoran was. She collapsed down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.  
  
After sealing the Blizzard card, she had returned to set him loose from her spell, but he hadn't been anywhere near where she had left him. It was evident that he had broken loose, but he was nowhere in sight.  
  
In a panic, she had reached out with all of her senses to locate him, but his aura had completely disappeared. Running back to the cabin hurriedly, she still hadn't found any sign of him. In the vast four-story building, she hadn't told anyone else either. She didn't want everyone to know that Syaoran was missing and that she had caused him to disappear because she had cast a spell on him.  
  
I This is all my fault. I shouldn't have left him there; I knew that he was going to come after me. Sakura, you are such a baka! Now he's gone, and you have no idea where he is! What are you going to do when everyone else comes back and he still isn't here? What if he's out there looking for you and he's freezing? What if he's dead? I Sakura froze as she heard footsteps coming up to her room door.  
  
She turned her head to look at the door. It slowly creaked open, and a snow-covered head with hazel-eyes looked in on her.  
  
"Sakura? Are you.mphf."Syaoran was cut off as Sakura threw herself on him, wrapping her arms around him tightly.  
  
"Syaoran! I thought that you were gone, and I couldn't find you, and I couldn't sense you! What was happening? Syaoran, gomennasi for leaving you there! I was so worried! Where'd you go?" Sakura burst out with all of her concerns, embracing Syaoran in a tight hug, holding him tightly, and Syaoran suddenly realized that she had been genuinely scared for him.  
  
Syaoran smiled at her discreetly as he looked down at her auburn haired head buried in his chest.  
  
He patted her back gently. "It's alright, Sakura, I'm OK." Sakura looked up at him, her emerald eyes wide-open.  
  
"Syaoran, I'm so sorry! I'll never do that to you again, and don't you ever leave me by myself again like that!"  
  
Chuckling slightly at Sakura's agitation, Syaoran nodded his head. Sakura was suddenly overcome by her emotions. Syaoran's warm almond eyes stared right at her, seeming to penetrate into the depths of her being.  
  
"Syaoran?" Sakura whispered to him.  
  
"Hmm?" he asked, just as softly.  
  
"I was so worried about you," she said, her eyes on Syaoran's.  
  
"I was worried about you, Sakura. You ran off on your own, and it was snowing like crazy out there! What in the world were you thinking? What if you had died? The cards would stay out there forever, and never be captured."  
  
"Hiyoshi." Sakura managed to get out before Syaoran interrupted her again. She was surprised at the anger in his voice.  
  
"Yes, I know Hiyoshi would have eventually captured all of the cards, but, Sakura, what about me? What would I have done without you? I love you!" Syaoran exclaimed before his mind caught up to what he had just said. In surprise, Sakura stepped away from Syaoran, her mouth open and forming an 'o'.  
  
"Sakura, I came back from Hong Kong, just for you," Syaoran said softly. Syaoran felt his face flaming up, but before Sakura could respond, he reached out and pulled her back to him and caught her lips up in a kiss. Stunned, Sakura pulled away from Syaoran, and quickly turned her head away.  
  
"Come on, let's go on down. We're leaving tomorrow morning anyway, and it's time for dinner. Aren't you hungry?" Sakura said hurriedly.  
  
Syaoran had to laugh at Sakura; her thoughts were still on food. "Hey, where'd that stuffed animal go? You didn't bring him on the trip with you?" Inside though, he was being torn apart. She had rejected him. He had lost her.  
  
"Kero-chan? Nope. He wanted to stay home because Suppi came visiting, and he brought a new video game over." Syaoran faked a laugh as he followed Sakura down the hallway to the dining hall. Sakura smiled at him falsely too as they entered the dining hall.  
  
"Syaoran-kun! Sakura-chan! You stayed out long enough!" Meilin berated them as they entered the dining hall. "We were about to go out looking for you!"  
  
"Gomennasi!" Sakura replied, smiling brightly as Meilin. "We were caught up in something and lost track of time." She was only half in reality though. Her heart was torn between two thoughts, her love for Syaoran and how much he loved her. He had just confessed to her, but she was surprised that she didn't know what to say. Hadn't she always loved him, from the day that she had known his character truly? She loved him, but what had made her hesitate when he had asked her?  
  
Sakura was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn't realize that Syaoran was in an absolute state of gloom. Syaoran glanced at her only twice during dinner, but she was looking out the window the entire time. He sighed and decided to just wait for her to make a decision.  
  
Everyone had made their own dinners out of food that they had found in the fridge, mostly just sandwiches.  
  
"HI! I'm back!" Everyone froze as they heard a loud voice yell to them from the main entrance. Tomoyo spun around, and then sighed in relief as she realized that it was only Miki-san.  
  
"Konnichiwa!" Tomoyo responded.  
  
"Gomen nasi that I didn't arrive back here last night, that storm was awful! I hope that you are all alright?"  
  
Nodding, Sakura replied that they had all stayed inside until the storm died down and had had plenty of fun exploring the cabin.  
  
Smiling at them, Natashi promised that she would make them a great breakfast the next morning before they left to return to Tomoeda. Expressing their thanks, the group trooped up the steps to the bedrooms.  
  
Silently, after everyone else had gone to bed, Sakura made her way out of her bed. She headed towards the bathroom, remembering that she had left her bracelet there. As she passed by Leisa's room, she thought that she heard sounds coming from inside. Concerned, she realized that the door was open a crack.  
  
Telling herself that she shouldn't, Sakura was overcome by her curiosity. Peeking in, she was shocked to see Leisa kissing another boy on her bed. She averted her eyes and then jerked her head up as she heard the boy's voice and recognized it.  
  
She felt like her heart was being torn to shreds. "Syaoran?" she whispered. As she focused on them, she saw enough to make out the obvious messy brown hair.  
  
She barely absorbed everything that was happening. Syaoran. Kissing Leisa. She left in a daze.  
  
Is he that type of person? Did he only want me because of my body? Why is he doing this to me? Doesn't he love me? Why? Syaoran.  
  
Without knowing how, she made her way up to the third floor. She was surprised as she realized where she was. She sat down and spread out, trying to get into a comfortable position.  
  
She sighed, contemplating how her life was turning out. She didn't even know why she was, but she wasn't tired yet. She stared out of the windows, looking down the mountains and the snow-blanketed ground until it disappeared from her view.  
  
Suddenly cold, she pulled her feet up to her chest and hugged them to her chest. She shivered, and then started as she felt someone slip their arms around her stomach, not too tightly, but just strong enough to carry her over to the sofa.  
  
"Syaoran!" she yelled in mock anger, half-surprised and half-confused. "What are you doing up here?"  
  
"Hello to you too," he replied calmly. Settling down, Sakura laid her head down in Syaoran's lap, while he played with her long auburn hair, even more confused. Why wasn't he with Leisa?  
  
He leant back against the sofa that they were on, and sighed. "Sakura, have you ever thought about what's going to happen to us once we graduate from high school? You know it's our last year, right?"  
  
Sakura nodded. "I know, Syaoran, I'm worried. What about the rest of the cards? I know there's got to be some more out there, and even though I know who are sending them out, I don't want to confront them yet. I want to know them better. Why? Why are they doing this? But Syaoran, the last few cards are going to be the hardest that we've ever met yet...And what's going to happen if I have to go out to college and the cards still aren't all captured?"  
  
"Sakura, the Clow Card Book, it had bound every single Clow Card to it. Wherever the Book goes, the cards have to go also. And how do you know that the last few cards will be so hard?" Syaoran asked her.  
  
"I.I.I had a premonition," Sakura said softly. Syaoran grasped her hand tightly.  
  
"Sakura! How could you not tell me?" he asked her angrily.  
  
"Syaoran, stop it!" she retorted. "I don't have to tell you everything! Let go of me!" She struggled to get out of his grip, and Syaoran softened, but he didn't release his grip on her. On the contrary, he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.  
  
"Sakura, I'm just so scared for you. I don't want anything to happen to you. I love you!"  
  
Stifling a sob, Sakura tried to stop the tears that were falling out of her wet emerald eyes.  
  
"Sakura?" Syaoran cradled her head against his chest, trying to comfort her. She was losing her strength, and she finally lay limp against Syaoran, trying to stop the sobs that were escaping her.  
  
"Sakura, I love you. I don't ever want to hurt you." IAnd I don't ever want anyone else to hurt you.I  
  
"I can't bear to see you in so much pain, Sakura. Please, tell me?"  
  
Sakura looked up at Syaoran, almost unwilling to meet his eyes, but knowing that she had to. She had to see if he had been using her or if he was telling the truth. After what she had just seen him do with Leisa, she wasn't sure if she would even be able to face him again.  
  
"Syaoran, just answer me one question. What were you doing in Leisa's room?" Sakura asked him quietly and calmly, though her heart was pounding loudly and she thought that she would die before he would answer her question.  
  
Syaoran's face reddened. He took a deep breath and Sakura could tell that something bad had happened. Her face crumpled, and she looked away from him immediately.  
  
"No, Sakura! It's not what you think it was!" Syaoran cried out.  
  
"Syaoran, what else could it be? I saw both of you in there, kissing like that. I knew it was too much to hope for."  
  
"No Sakura!" Syaoran said in a pleading voice. He gripped her arms tightly and pulled her towards him again. "Don't even doubt how much I love you!"  
  
"Why not?" Sakura cried out. "After you just admitted to me that you were kissing Leisa?"  
  
"I did not!" Syaoran said back to her. "I didn't do anything with her! You know how I feel about her, and I dislike her and her brother both!"  
  
"Then what were you doing in her room? What were you doing on her bed?" Sakura asked him again.  
  
Syaoran sighed. "I went into her room because she told me that.that.she would hurt you if I didn't give her my powers." He looked up at Sakura sadly. "I had to, and I couldn't tell you, you wouldn't let me and then she would kill you. I couldn't let that happen. Nothing can happen to you!"  
  
Sakura stared at him, surprised. Her eyes softened and she felt them fill with tears again.  
  
"Syaoran, gomennasi! I had no idea!" She hugged him hard, leaning on him for support, trying hard not to cry again.  
  
"It's OK, Sakura. I'll be fine."  
  
"But Syaoran, your powers!" Sakura said to him.  
  
He cradled her in his arms. "It's alright. I'll be fine without them, as long as you're alright, I'm fine." He smiled at her, though Sakura could see the agony in them. She felt awful at having been the cause of it all.  
  
"Syaoran," Sakura said softly. He looked up at her, eyes wide in anticipation.  
  
"I.I.aishiteru Syaoran," she whispered to him. As realization dawned on him, he smiled at her broadly.  
  
Emotions that had been hidden inside for years finally came tumbling out in a whirlwind of emotions as Syaoran face came down near hers. His lips sought out hers, and as they met, Syaoran felt a merging between them.  
  
As they broke apart, Sakura smiled at Syaoran, relieved that he was all right.  
  
"I love you, Sakura" Syaoran murmured into her ear.  
  
"Honto ne?" Sakura asked him, a playful smile on her lips.  
  
Nodding, Syaoran smiled back at her. "Honto," he replied.  
  
Pulling him down to her, Sakura kissed him again, her fingers running wildly thought his hair. Syaoran kissed her hard, possessingly.  
  
"Syaoran, but still.your powers are all gone. Stolen by Leisa, I knew that she was one of them.but still, I didn't think that they would go this far. I'm so sorry Syaoran, it's all my fault," she apologized again to him, leaning slightly against his chest, feeling his muscles strong and taut underneath his shirt.  
  
"I'll be alright Sakura. The only thing that I worry about now is you. How will I protect you now?"  
  
"Syaoran, I don't need protecting!" Sakura protested to him.  
  
"Yes, you do." Syaoran told her firmly. Then he smiled at her. "You're always so stubborn Sakura, don't be. It's alright to admit that you're tired or hurt. It's not your fault about Leisa and Kent. That's another thing that I admire you so much about. You always try to see the best in people, even when I was so mean to you. You tried your best to become friends with me, that touched me, Sakura." Syaoran told her lovingly as he ran his hand over her cheek gently.  
  
She smiled at him, and then suppressed a yawn.  
  
Syaoran hid a grin. "So my little goddess is all tired now? C'mon, my room's definitely the warmest in the cabin."  
  
Too tired to protest, Sakura let Syaoran carry her down to his room. He gently laid her down on his bed and smiled at the sight of her sleeping.  
  
"Night Sakura," he whispered to her as he slipped into the covers next to her. She instinctively moved towards him and wrapped her arms around him, and as her hand opened up, Syaoran spotted a card in her hand. He gently removed  
  
~* Morning *~  
  
Tomoyo smiled at them knowingly as they entered the hall, and both of them blushed. They both knew instinctively that she had been there, videotaping both of them but had been too considerate to bother them. Eriol gave Syaoran a sly grin with a look that said "I told you so," written all over it.  
  
Syaoran took a closer look at Meilin, and realized that Hiyoshi had his arm wrapped around Meilin's waist. Something had happened between them too. He shot Meilin a questioning glance, which she avoided.  
  
"Later!" she mouthed to him, then cast a sly look at him as she saw that he was standing awfully close to Sakura and had his arm around her tightly. He nodded, blushing, and she smiled with a knowing look at him. Sighing in bliss, she remembered what had happened that morning.(  
  
*~ Flashback ~*  
  
"Meilin?" she jumped as she heard someone's voice behind her, then relaxed as she realized that it was only Hiyoshi.  
  
"What are you doing up here?" he asked her, coming next to her to sit down. She shrugged her shoulders, unable to think up of an answer.  
  
Hiyoshi sat with her as they watched the sun rise together, then he suddenly spoke.  
  
"Why did you come back, Meilin?"  
  
Meilin sighed. That was what she had come up to the third floor to think about. She had discovered this room last evening and had dubbed it the Sun House. It had showed the sunset perfectly, showering her with the magnificent rays of sunlight as it had finally faded away.  
  
Now, as the sun rose, she gasped at its beauty, almost matching the wondrous sunset that she had seen the night before.  
  
Still contemplating, she remained silent in answer to Hiyoshi's question. She could feel his need, the pressing desire that he had to know the answer to the question. She thought it over, once more.  
  
What did she feel now when Syaoran entered the room? Was her heart still pounding as loudly as before? And how did she feel about Hiyoshi now? He had been so caring, always being there for her when she needed him, always the one she ran to now when she had a fight with Syaoran. Hadn't she known that Syaoran had never loved her with anything more than family love? No, she decided. I have moved on. I loved him, and I always will love him, but it has dwindled to a brotherly love.  
  
"Hiyoshi," she whispered. He immediately responded, looking straight at her, wanting to know.  
  
"I.I came back because I knew that I had moved on," were the only words that she uttered. But from that, Hiyoshi understood.  
  
Gently embracing her, he tilted her chin up to look into her eyes. He smiled at her, and she knew, that he loved her back. Then suddenly, his lips were on hers; gently releasing in her a passion that she had never experienced before, and it was then that she finally realized, that they had been meant to be together.  
  
As they broke apart to take a breath, Meilin smiled at Hiyoshi in pure adoration and love.  
  
*~ End Flashback ~*  
  
As Meilin looked up at Hiyoshi, he smiled at her and tightened his grip around her.  
  
"Are you OK?" he asked her softly.  
  
"Hai," she replied. "As long as you're with me." Hiyoshi blushed and quickly looked away before he fell under another one of Meilin's trances.  
  
"I love you," he whispered to her in her ear. She blushed, and playfully smacked his arm.  
  
"Sweet talker," she murmured back.  
  
Sakura grinned in delight at the foods that were spread out on the table. Miki had outdone herself, working up a marvelous breakfast. Frying bacon, scrambled eggs, hot pancakes, French toast, cooked ham, sausage, tater tots, and waffles.  
  
"I feel full and fat just looking at this stuff," she whispered to Naoko. She giggled back and quickly began taking her share of breakfast.  
  
"Ladies first!" Leisa said, barging her way through. "And if you were a real gentleman, you would offer to get my food for me," she said warningly to no one in particular, it seemed, but to Syaoran, it seemed like a laced threat. He glared at her, and a lesser person would've died, but she held his gaze, almost contemptuously.  
  
Sakura pulled Syaoran away from her, knowing that if she didn't something bad would happen.  
  
"Don't worry about her, Syaoran. We'll get your powers back, don't worry," Sakura said, trying to comfort him.  
  
She filled Eriol, Meilin, Tomoyo, and Hiyoshi in on the details softly as they ate breakfast.  
  
They were all furious and wanted to kill Leisa themselves, but knew that they stood no chance against her, not with Syaoran without his powers.  
  
"Why didn't Kent do anything?" Sakura asked suddenly.  
  
Everyone looked at her with curious expressions on their faces.  
  
"Well, he's supposed to be evil too, right? Why isn't he gloating, like Leisa?"  
  
"Maybe.maybe he just isn't in a good mood?" Hiyoshi suggested.  
  
"Or maybe he doesn't know about it, or he doesn't like the idea," Meilin stated, catching on to Sakura's drift.  
  
"Yeah, I bet he's sick of this whole thing already," Tomoyo added.  
  
"I don't know," Syaoran said. He cast a swift glance at Kent, and turned around again.  
  
"Whatever it is, we'll get your powers back," Sakura assured Syaoran as she turned away to talk with Tomoyo.  
  
"I know you will Sakura, but at what cost will it be?" Syaoran said softly to her back.  
  
Gomennasi for not getting this out sooner, and I know it's really awkward in the beginning, but S+S are finally together, of course. And Meilin and Hiyoshi also in this chapter. I felt like I had to wrap them up. They're my fave couple, after S+S and E+T.  
  
Anyway, hope to get the next chapter up soon, though I doubt that will happen.hope?  
  
Lata!  
  
~Rubygurl 


	14. Angel Of Light

Chapter 14- Angel of Light  
  
Sakura yawned sleepily and then opened her eyes. She blinked them lazily and then looked at the clock. She closed her eyes again without a thought and sank back into her bed, snuggling comfortable under the covers.  
  
It took her a full minute to comprehend what the time read. "KERO-CHAN!" she screamed out loud. "It's five minutes after eight! I'm late!"  
  
Ten minutes later, a bedraggled looking Sakura raced out of her house on her roller blades headed straight for school at top speed after leaving a note for her father and brother, reminding them that tonight was the night of the play.  
  
IGreat, today is the day that we perform and I'm late.well, I know Syaoran is there, I can sorta feel him, and I mean that telepathic link that we have should come in handy someday, especially if I forget my lines.hmm.I should ask him about that. I hope all of that practice pays off. I hope that I do OK, I mean, it would be totally awful if I messed up in front of the entire school. Plus, Syaoran still doesn't have his powers yet. I wonder what truly happened between Leisa and him. If she does have his powers, how am I going to get them back for him? I must still be such a failure to him, he still can't acknowledge me as the Card Captor Mistress, yet, and he accepts Hiyate with no problem as the Master of the cards. /I  
  
She sighed softly. Suddenly, she almost stumbled and fell off her blades as she saw Syaoran jump out in front of her.  
  
"Syaoran!" she cried out in astonishment as she spun around quickly to regain control of her blades.  
  
He smirked at her, but then sobered up. "What were you thinking of that made you not notice me?" he asked her.  
  
"The play." Sakura replied. Half the truth, but at least she wasn't lying to him. She tried hard to be bright and happy, not letting Syaoran see what was truly bothering her. "What if I mess up? I don't want to embarrass myself in front of everyone! Maybe I should just let Meilin do my part."  
  
"Meilin?" Syaoran scoffed. "That girl didn't even learn half of the lines, or even come to any of the practices. She's got no idea what to do. Besides, she's acting as the other angel.what's her name again.Janni?" Smiling at Sakura, he gently slipped his hand into hers and gripped it tightly.  
  
Sakura blushed, and noticed that Syaoran was going a bit red too. She still remembered what had happened two weeks ago at the mountain clearly.  
  
"Don't worry Sakura. Everything's going to turn out just fine. You've done a great job at all of the rehearsals, you're a great singer, and you know all of your lines. Just go out there and give it your best." They entered the school together, and headed directly towards the auditorium to prepare for the show.  
  
That entire school day was spent preparing, rehearsing, and fine-tuning the play, making sure that it would be a success.  
  
"Alright everyone, let's call it a day." Terada smiled at the exhausted cast members. "Remember to arrive back here around six, you have about four hours before the play. See you tonight! Good luck!"  
  
Sakura near crawled off the stage, too tired to protest as Syaoran lifted her up. Being one of the last ones out, barely anyone say them, except for the ever-watching Tomoyo.  
  
"Kawaii!" she exclaimed as she zoomed in with her video camera, intent on capturing her perfect Sakura with the love of her life, Syaoran.  
  
"Good luck tonight!" Sakura yelled to Syaoran as they parted.  
  
He waved back to her as he headed to his apartment with Meilin.  
  
* * * * * Performance at Night!!! * * * * *  
  
Backstage, it was pandemonium.  
  
"Ahh! My costume doesn't fit!"  
  
"You probably ate too much, Kylie-san," her friend commented, grinning at the look of hostility that Kylie sent her.  
  
"Where are the halos? And I can't find where the clouds went!"  
  
"It broke! It broke! I broke the cloud! It won't work! Where's Terada- sensei?"  
  
"Where's the music?"  
  
"My violin string broke! Hanumi-sensei!"  
  
"Where's Brown-san? He's the lead in this play! He better be here or else he's dead! Has anyone seen him?"  
  
"My make-up is rubbing off! Lynii-sensei!"  
  
"Hiyate! Get on the lights!" Nuriko yelled.  
  
"Calm down!"  
  
"Tomoyo-chan, can you help me with my cost." Sakura started, then she stopped, seeing that her best friend was occupied with hemming and pinning costumes for other characters in the play.  
  
"One sec Sakura, be right there!" Tomoyo said to her, but Sakura knew better than to wait for Tomoyo.  
  
She went off to her dressing room so that she could change into her attire. She had wanted to be with her best friend before the play started so that she could get some encouragement, but she didn't want to bother her now.  
  
As she entered her own dressing room, she quickly changed her clothes and slipped the elegant angel garb on. It was a white toga trimmed with gold fabric. Unknown to Sakura, it made her auburn hair shimmer in the light.  
  
She smoothly slipped on her halo and then stepped back to check herself in the mirror, making sure that everything was perfect. She adjusted the halo a bit to make sure that it was centered on her head and then sat down on her chair, mentally rehearsing her lines in her head.  
  
"Kawaii!" She heard a voice behind her say.  
  
"Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura cried out as she whirled around.  
  
"Aww, you look so cute today! All because of the great costumes that I made! Don't worry, you'll do fine out there. Just relax, but I have a question, do you know where Brown-san is?"  
  
"Michael? No, I haven't seen him yet, he's not in his room getting ready?"  
  
Tomoyo shook her head. "No, he's not. I don't know where he is! We'd better find him fast though, the show starts in half an hour!"  
  
Sakura nodded. "I'll go look for him, don't worry about it. I'm sure he's here somewhere. He wouldn't miss such a big event as this unless it was extremely important. Here, go ask Naoko-chan, and I'll go look for him outside, alright?"  
  
Tomoyo nodded. "Hai, and I'll get Li-kun ready also, just in case," she said with a wink to Sakura, who blushed. "You look so kirei!" (pretty)  
  
Sakura turned even redder. "Arigato!"  
  
"Smile for the camera!"  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Sakura paced outside the school door, shivering in the cold. Where was Michael?  
  
She quickly glanced up as she heard a door slam and grinned in relief as she saw Michael walking up from his Viper.  
  
"Michael! You're late! Where've you been? Hurry up and get dressed! The show's starting in ten minutes!"  
  
"Sakura-chan," Michael started to say as he drew closer to her. Sakura paused as she saw the expression on his face.  
  
"Michael! What's wrong?"  
  
"Well, I finally did it. I'm being sent home," he told her grimly.  
  
Sakura shook her head. "Oh no! Kale-kun, not now! No, no!"  
  
"Gomennasi, Sakura-chan. My dad's making me go. I can't do the play. I'm sorry, truly, I am."  
  
"What happened?" Sakura asked him softly as she looked him straight in the eye.  
  
Michael sighed, and then quickly told her. "Tristan and I pulled off a big one yesterday. Dad exploded, and that's it. I'm going back to the US and he's sticking me in a military academy to 'shape me up.'"  
  
"Well, what'd you do? It couldn't have been that bad, right?"  
  
"Actually. it was pretty bad. I'm really lucky that I haven't been thrown in jail already and that my dad has such high influences here, or I might be in jail for twenty years now," he stated grimly.  
  
Sakura's emerald eyes widened. "Kale! What'd you do!?"  
  
Michael sighed, yet again, and then he began his shocking story. "Tristan and I went out with Tomaki, and he had his dad's gun." Sakura gasped, shaking her head in disbelief. "We were just hanging around, chilling, you know. This stupid police officer came up and scared us all. Tristan threw the gun to me and it went off, hitting the guy in the arm. Too frightened to do anything, we just ran off, but the officer obviously got down who we looked like and my Viper license plate number. And it also didn't help that Tomaki left the gun lying there, and it had all of our fingerprints on it. Well, It's all figured out now, Tristan, Tomaki and me are still all tight, but my dad.I'm going back."  
  
"Kale." Sakura was at a loss for words.  
  
"I know, it's awful. I'm leaving with Tristan now, tonight with my dad escorting us personally to the airport."  
  
"But Naoko-chan!" Sakura managed to get in.  
  
Michael's face held a pained expression. "I don't know what to say to her," he confessed to Sakura.  
  
"Well, you've definitely got to tell her that you are leaving."  
  
"Alright.I'd never forgive myself if I didn't, I guess. But my dad.oh no! He's coming!"  
  
"Hurry up! Get over to her room now!"  
  
Michael nodded as he started off and then paused. "Sakura, thank you."  
  
She blushed. "Hurry up!"  
  
"No, I mean thank you for everything here. Without you here, I bet I would've killed myself a lot faster." Sakura grinned at him. "I would've never gotten to know Naoko as well as I did and love her, and even come close to getting up my courage to.to get together with her. Thank you so much, Sakura. Keep in touch!"  
  
Sakura laughed at Michael. "Yeah, I'm sure that you would've come to see that Naoko was the one for you sooner or later, besides, you had no trouble asking any other girls out!"  
  
He looked back at her once more. "And you look lovely tonight, Sakura-chan. Syaoran's going have one heck of a time trying to concentrate on his lines, you know that you loves you, right?"  
  
Sakura pushed him into the school. "Don't be such a sweet talker, Kale! Go!"  
  
Michael ran into the school and headed for Naoko's room, threading his way quickly through the confusion backstage. He hesitated for a second before he raised his hand to knock on Naoko's door.  
  
"Kale!" Naoko's cry was cut off as he pressed his lips to her quickly.  
  
"Kale!" Naoko burst out again as they parted. "Where've you been? Everyone's been looking for you! Hurry up! You're going to be late! You're not even in your costume yet, and you.what's wrong?" she finally asked as she saw his face.  
  
"I.I got into a bit of trouble. I'm being sent home," he told her softly.  
  
"What? Oh, Michael." Naoko said softly, turning her head away, unable to bear the thought that her one love was leaving her.  
  
"Naoko," Michael pulled her to him, and she collapsed into his arms, tears falling out of her eyes, barely absorbing the fact that her makeup was streaking on her face.  
  
"What if I never see you again?" she asked him tearfully.  
  
Michael gently tilted her head up to look right into her glistening hazel eyes.  
  
"Naoko, I love you. Nothing will keep us apart. I'll come back for you, don't you ever forget that!"  
  
"But." Naoko's protest was met by a deep kiss. She held onto Michael tightly, deepening the kiss. Neither of them wanted to let go of the other. As they parted, Michael gently traced her face with his fingers, trying to memorize every detail of her, impressing her face into his memory forever. Naoko looked deep into Michael's eyes, knowing that she might never see him again.  
  
"I love you Naoko," he whispered to her.  
  
"Aishiteru, Michael."  
  
"I've got to go now, before I miss my flight," Michael said softly, though he made no movement to part from Naoko, who was still clinging to him.  
  
"Michael! Man, your dad's here!" they heard Tristan's voice outside the door.  
  
Naoko looked at Michael longingly, unwilling to release him quite yet.  
  
"Kale, I know you're in there. Please, man, can we go?"  
  
"We'll see each other again, I know we will," Michael promised Naoko. "Wait for me, I love you, now and forever!"  
  
"I will," she replied as she sank down into her chair, not looking up as Michael left her.  
  
Tomoyo rushed in immediately afterwards, not saying a word, but quickly rearranging Naoko's makeup. As she finished, she looked at Naoko.  
  
"Naoko-chan," she said softly. "Don't worry. He'll be back. I know he will. But you have to go out to do this play right now; we're all counting on you. Onegai."  
  
Naoko looked up at Tomoyo and smiled. Tomoyo sighed in relief.  
  
"I know he's going to come back," Naoko said firmly. "We love each other, nothing's going to keep us apart!"  
  
"That's my girl! C'mon, you're in the first scene!"  
  
  
  
Angel of Light  
  
Cast:  
  
Gina: Kinomoto Sakura  
  
Understudy: Li Meilin  
  
Riley: Michael Brown  
  
Understudy: Li Syaoran  
  
Yuri: Huang Leisa  
  
Leana: Kiata Kylie  
  
Kimoko: Tetsuya Kasumi  
  
God: Yanigasawa Naoko  
  
Shinhwa: Mihara Chiharu  
  
Kari: Sasaki Rika  
  
Janni: Li Meilin  
  
Alixander: Hiiragiwaza Eriol  
  
Marc: Takaishi Yamazaki  
  
Whitney: Huang Kentaro  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Directors: Yoshiyaki Terada, Hinada Nuriko  
  
Student Director: Daidouji Tomoyo  
  
Director of Lighting and Special Effects: Kimi Hiyoshi  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Sakura stood on one side of the stage, anxiously waiting for the start of the performance. She knew that Syaoran was on the other side. She hoped to God that he was or else the show would be ruined.  
  
She took a deep breath to calm herself and waited for the applause that would take her into the first scene with Naoko, Chiharu, Meilin, and Rika.  
  
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, we thank you for coming out to watch this performance. The students, Nuriko-sensei, and I have worked extra hard on preparing tonight's show just for you. We hope that you enjoy it." Terada finished speaking, and applause entered into Sakura's ears, and she knew that it was time for her to go on stage.  
  
Another deep breath, and then she walked out. She twirled once, and then she sat down on one of the floating clouds. They had been specially made for this performance and donated by Michael's dad. Sakura was able to float on in and also move around the stage while still sitting on it.  
  
"Gina! We've been looking all over for you!" Chiharu entered onto the stage along with Meilin and Rika, reproving Sakura gently. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Oh, I'm just looking down at earth from up here. Do you think anyone down there ever realizes what we're doing up here? Or what they face once they die?"  
  
Rika scoffed at Sakura's question. "Don't get so philosophical, Gina. Come on, I know that you were really thinking about Riley, weren't you?" Sakura blushed.  
  
"No, I wasn't!" she protested. Chiharu looked at her with a knowing glance.  
  
"Alright, so I was! So what?" Sakura looked to the right of the stage, where Syaoran had now appeared and was pretending to talk to Leisa on Earth.  
  
"I miss him," Sakura said softly.  
  
"I know, I know. Don't worry about it. I hate to break it to you, but you know, he's never going to remember you. You know that was only a one-day chance. And just look at the way that he's looking at that girl, what's her name, Gina, it's going to hurt, but he's going to move on. He can't even recall you now, you had his memory erased.don't you remember that? Come on, the boss wants to talk to you," Meilin said to her gently.  
  
"Him? Right now? What does He want with me?" Sakura asked in surprise.  
  
"I don't know, but I think it's because you've been so good lately. You're such a good angel, Gina. I can never be as patient as you, you're the best at everything," Sakura was startled as she detected an underlying tone of honesty in Chiharu's voice. Could it be? Was she always like that? Was Chiharu actually jealous of her?  
  
Sakura glanced quickly over at her, trying to flow with the show still, but Chiharu looked fine, the same and normal.  
  
"Well, don't keep Him waiting, I'm sure that you'll be fine! And you know what? From what I heard.I think that he might send you somewhere real nice." Meilin smiled at Sakura.  
  
"Thanks you guys! I owe you one!"  
  
She smiled as they exited the stage, and Sakura made her way to the center stage where Naoko was waiting patiently for her.  
  
"Good day, Gina," Naoko boomed out.  
  
Sakura knelt before Naoko, alighting from her cloud. "Good day," she replied.  
  
"So, I've heard some good reports about you, and I've watched you for some time now." Naoko continued. "Do you remember when I sent you down to Earth as a vacation and to also inspect their habits?"  
  
Sakura nodded, and as she glanced out into the audience, she could barely make out her father and brother's faces in the front row, watching her intently.  
  
Yuki and Nakuru were sitting next to Touya, and her grandfather and Sonomi were sitting on the other side of her father.  
  
"I've decided that you need to go on another vacation, don't you think?"  
  
Sakura jerked her head up, unable to contain her excitement that she was going to go away again.  
  
"Really? Where am I to go this time?" she asked curiously, with just the right amount of enthusiasm and containment.  
  
"I'm sending you down to earth again. I've been told numerous times how much you want to return there, and even though it is usually a punishment when we do send angels down, I've seen that you deserve to go down, if it pleases you."  
  
Sakura's eyes lit up in happiness. "Of course it does! Thank you!"  
  
"Kari and Janni will be able to watch you from above, but you must remember to be careful. I cannot necessarily protect you from everything that will happen on earth. I am allowing Shinhwa to follow you on earth though. Be sure to stay out of trouble, I don't think I need to remind you what happened last time?"  
  
Sakura nodded, and waited patiently for the lights to flare out.  
  
"I'm sending you down now," Naoko told her with a faint smile. The lights died away, and Sakura let out a sigh of relief as she headed off the stage.  
  
"Sakura-chan," she heard a voice say to her as she was going to the other side of the stage. She turned around to see Leisa.  
  
"Hey Leisa," she replied calmly.  
  
"Hi Sakura-chan.I just wanted to tell you that.well, I know that you like Syaoran a lot, but so do I. I just wanted to tell you that I will fight for him with you, because I truly love him," Leisa said. Sakura was a bit surprised. She sounded sincere.  
  
Sakura slowly nodded her head. "All right Leisa. I love him too, just don't take him for granted if you do win."  
  
Leisa smiled at her. "If I do get him, then he will be mine forever. Of course I'll take good care of him. Good luck, Sakura." She sauntered off, and Sakura felt a sense of foreboding come to her. Not of losing Syaoran to Leisa, but of another card being released and of him getting hurt.  
  
She sighed. There was nothing she could do about it. Feeling vulnerable, she knew that Leisa was determined to have her way. Sighing again, Sakura made her way back to the curtains.  
  
At least Kent seemed to have lost his infatuation with her, she thought. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him helping another classmate, Kylie with her lines. Kent wouldn't have to appear until Act 2, Scene 1, with Syaoran and Eriol. He had taken over Hiyoshi's spot since he had been designated as the Lights person.  
  
As Sakura watched him, he gently brushed back a stray strand of hair that had fallen onto Kylie's face.  
  
She smiled at them and then was surprised as she felt someone tap her shoulder. She felt the presence and wasn't shocked to see Syaoran as she turned around.  
  
"Good luck," he told her with a grin.  
  
"Arigato, Syaoran-kun," she replied. "You too. I'm so glad that you were able to take over as Riley. And I didn't plan this at all.did you hear what happened? I can't believe it. Have you seen Naoko-chan at all? I hope that she is OK."  
  
"She seems fine. They love each other too much to let it die away," Syaoran reassured her. He was smiling inside though, glad that Sakura was still thinking of others before her, one of the traits that he loved about her.  
  
"Hurry up!" one of the stage crewmembers hissed at them. "We're starting the next scene! The audience is already starting to get restless, let's go!"  
  
Syaoran smiled at Sakura, gave her a quick good luck kiss on the cheek before he rushed off for the other side.  
  
Sakura stepped out onto the stage, dimly aware that she was the only one out there, but she quickly swallowed her fear.  
  
She glanced around her, as if she was in a foreign place. "I can't believe that I am fiÐÏà¡±áþÿ [pic]')[pic]þÿÿÿ&ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿremembe r me." She sighed loud enough for the crowd to hear and then took a deep breath. She could barely feel Syaoran's presence behind her, strengthening her. The piano music started, softly at first, then it grew louder, informing the audience of its presence.  
  
Sakura took another deep breath and then she started singing. She forgot about the crowd watching and listening to her in awe, concentrating solely on the song.  
  
Backstage, Syaoran lost his breath as he watched her, aware of how gorgeous she was, hÐÏà¡±áþÿ [pic],.[pic]þÿÿÿ+ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿhine once again  
  
Waiting here watching for you  
  
Heart pure, still for you  
  
I'm waiting here, I'm waiting here  
  
I'm so afraid and lonely  
  
I'm so scared and cold  
  
I'm needing you to be here  
  
To be strong and bold  
  
Let it be the same again  
  
With me and that dance  
  
I still can't believe that I  
  
Never took that chance  
  
I miss you and I want you back  
  
I'm so afraid and lonely  
  
I'm so scared and cold  
  
I'm needing you to be here  
  
To be strong and bold  
  
Thought that I've let it all go  
  
It's seems all okay  
  
Although in my heart I know  
  
It just wasn't real  
  
I'm so afraid and lonely  
  
I'm so scared and cold  
  
I'm needing you to be here  
  
To be strong and bold  
  
I'm waiting here  
  
Don't know if you'll  
  
Come back to me  
  
All I know is that  
  
I believe in you  
  
Come back to me  
  
Come back to me  
  
I'm waiting here  
  
Lost and lonely  
  
Sakura ended, breathless, but also totally unaware of how good she had sounded. The applause that thundered the auditorium surprised her greatly. She blushed crimson onstage, trying not to cry. Beneath her, she could head people yelling for her autograph, and anxious music agents were bombarding her father with singing contracts, having been directed to him by a well-wishing Terada-sensei. He tried to ignore them, focusing on his only daughter up onstage.  
  
Remembering to move on with the play, Sakura turned her attention to the approaching Shinhwa.  
  
"So He let you down here too?" Sakura asked her. Chiharu nodded.  
  
"I've only been down here once, and not nearly as long as you have," Chiharu confessed to Sakura.  
  
Sakura smiled. "I'll show you around the places here, I think that I should still have an apartment rented out for me. We can share it, and.he lives there too. At least he used to."  
  
Chiharu shook her head at her. "Gina, you really shouldn't be doing this, falling in love with a human, it's against all of our laws."  
  
Sakura sighed. "I know." They had been threading their way back and forth through the elaborately painted scenery, which depicted a park scene. They ended there, walking off the stage.  
  
Sakura hurried into her dressing room to change, burdened because of the many people who were congratulating her. She had earned some extra time because Syaoran and Leisa were now in a scene at a club together with his friends Alix, who Eriol was playing, Whitney, Kent's character, and Yamazaki who was playing as Marc. Leisa's friends turned out to be some other classmates that Sakura only knew slightly, Kasumi and Kylie.  
  
After she had changed into a knee-length khaki skirt and a light blue shirt, she watched them from backstage with Chiharu.  
  
Her face grew hot as she saw Leisa take Syaoran's hand and hold it tightly. She knew that it was part of the script and that they had practiced it many times before, but it had never upset her until today. She could sense as well as see Syaoran's obvious discomfort although he tried his best to hide it, and it was barely noticeable.  
  
Sakura felt saddened within herself as she remembered what Leisa had said to her before the show. Does Leisa really want to have Syaoran to herself? I guess that Syaoran might be better off with her than with me, I know that he still doesn't accept me as the Mistress of the Cards. He's just staying around here, waiting for me to screw up so that he can grab the cards, she told herself determinedly. The rational part of her brain telling her that none of it was true, bu she ignored it completely.  
  
She wanted to talk to him, but she knew that it would only throw him off in the middle of the play, and she didn't want that to happen.  
  
As the scene ended, Sakura prepared to go out again, this time accompanied by no one. Chiharu was supposedly too tired to go out and Sakura had gone out after Chiharu had fallen asleep.  
  
This would be the scene where she was going to meet Syaoran, to in the play, Riley.  
  
The orchestra started up the music, and the audience quieted. It was a classical piece, and Sakura entered onto the stage, mingling among the various members of the chorus.  
  
As she surveyed the stage, she felt a tug at her magic. She groaned inwardly. I Not now, Syaoran, Syaoran, do you./I  
  
She felt him nod mentally. Suddenly, the auditorium was plunged in darkness. Syaoran stood on the stage silently, sensing the magic force that was behind him, trying to pinpoint it.  
  
He was dimly aware of Sakura's presence, and was surprised that he was still able to feel magic in him. "Sakura," he whispered out loud.  
  
She felt him moving towards her, and she headed for him, grasping for his hand. Before she could touch him, an invisible force suddenly stopped her. A magic portal opened next to her, and Syaoran saw her being sucked in. Without a second thought, he jumped in after her and then the portal closed behind them.  
  
OK, about two more chapters left.Review please.^.^ Any questions or anything.Comments.  
  
~RubyGurl 


	15. Touch Your Heart

Not mine.it's all CLAMP's.this took forever to finish because I kept forgetting that I still had it and I grew bored and got terrible writer's block and it's the last chapter and it's really rushed and I think it's really bad.but to wrap this series up. PS-some material in here might be umm.suggestible to some things that might offend some people.do not read if you're offended easily by mentions of sex, not the actual thing, just thoughts or illusions.  
  
Chapter 15- Touch Your Heart  
They both disappeared into a totally different dimension.  
  
As Syaoran opened his hazel eyes, he saw Sakura lying on the ground next to him. Quickly he took in his surroundings. A desert-type place with almost no shade. A few cactuses dotted the never-ending desert. Shielding his eyes, he knew that they were nowhere near Mount Fuji anymore. Sighing, Syaoran turned to face Sakura, and then he saw the billows of dust and sand that were fast approaching him.  
  
Eriol winced as he felt the auras of Sakura and Syaoran both fade from the realm known as Earth.  
  
"Baka!" he exclaimed out loud. Hiyoshi ran down from the light room to see what was wrong.  
  
"They were just sucked out of here through a portal," Eriol announced to him.  
  
"No way!" Hiyoshi murmured.  
  
His eyes widened as he felt someone tap on his shoulder. He slowly turned around to see a grim Yue behind him. Eriol looked around him at the audience, and noticed that they were all frozen.  
  
"Only we're awake, because we've got magic." he gazed warily at the rest of the audience. Suddenly, on an impulse, he ran towards the stage with Hiyoshi.  
  
As they had expected, Kent and Leisa were also gone.  
  
"We'll have to wait for them to get out, the force that took them in is too powerful for me to get them out," Eriol admitted to the rest of them.  
  
"Oh, Imoto," Touya sighed softly besides them.  
  
Yue shook his head. "It'll be alright, Touya."  
  
Eriol didn't say anything, but he seemed unconvinced. "Good luck, Syaoran and Sakura," he whispered to them quietly.  
  
Suddenly, Hiyoshi let out a yell. "Where's Meilin?"  
  
* ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
Syaoran blinked again and groaned aloud. He sat up unsteadily and then rose to his feet. He stumbled once and then supported himself against a nearby tree. Rubbing his eyes, he looked at the tree and was surprised that he didn't recognize its species. He looked out around him and was apprehensive as soon as he saw the cloud of dust that was bearing down on them steadily.  
  
Quickly, he bent down to look at Sakura. She was still unconscious but breathing steadily. Slowly, cautiously, he reached out a hand to gently stroke her cheek.  
  
He softly shook her then, trying to wake her up. "Sakura!" he glanced uneasily at cloud of dust that now resembled riders on horses and shook her again. "Sakura!"  
  
Sleepily, she opened her eyes. "Syaoran! Where are we?" she immediately bolted up. "Where are we?" she asked again.  
  
"Well, we aren't at Seijou High anymore," Syaoran remarked sarcastically. He turned Sakura towards the riders, as they closed the gap between them quickly.  
  
Sakura quickly scrambled up to stand next to Syaoran.  
  
"Stop!" a voice commanded them, and then the riders were upon them. Instinctively, Sakura grasped Syaoran's hand tightly. They linked together, and Sakura leaned on him for support.  
  
"Are you friend or foe?" the lead horseman asked them warily. There were about 50 riders, all on black stallions wearing uniforms of red cloth that covered their entire beings, making the man's voice muffled. Syaoran could barely make out what he was saying.  
  
He looked around him again and realized that he had been thrown into a desert. Sand stretched for miles around him, and there were no other living things near them.  
  
"Friend, we come in peace," Syaoran said hesitantly.  
  
"Where has thou come from?" the man questioned sternly. Syaoran noticed that he had an accent, but he wasn't able to place it. It was foreign to him.  
  
"Eh.Earth?" Syaoran replied apprehensively.  
  
"Spies!" a voice rang out in the crowd.  
  
"Silence!" the man looked Syaoran and Sakura over, a gleeful look appearing in his eyes. He turned to the man next to him and whispered some words that Syaoran could barely hear.  
  
"They'll make excellent slaves. We'll make a good profit off of them."  
  
Syaoran started, but he was immediately reacquainted with the men around him.  
  
"We take them!" the man announced to his men.  
  
Surrounded by armed riders, Syaoran didn't want to take the chance that Sakura would be hurt by a stray arrow or weapon. He wouldn't throw her in harm's way like that. IDon't worry. It'll be OK.I he told her. Sakura looked over at him helplessly, and all he could do was smile faintly at her. They meekly submitted themselves to their captives.  
  
Obediently, they trekked in the middle of the caravan, not being given the privilege of riding on a horse. Syaoran could see Sakura struggling out of the corner of his eye. They had not been bound yet, so he was able to lift her up in his arms. She protested weakly, but he knew she was too lethargic to do anything else. Near to him the soldiers were murmuring with each other and giving nods of approval to Syaoran. Late in the evening, after they had stopped for the night, Syaoran watched, awake on the ground next to Sakura. She was already asleep, but had entwined her fingers into his, firmly latching onto him.  
  
Syaoran gently stroked Sakura's cheek, being careful to not wake her up. He sighed softly, silently berating himself for not escaping from his captors. But as he looked down at Sakura's sleeping figure, he knew that he would never leave her by herself, so there was no choice for him but to wait to see where he was being escorted by his captors.  
  
Silently, he sat down to take care of Sakura throughout the night. He wasn't going to fall asleep in the unfamiliar territory. His nightly vigil went on till dawn broke, since he knew that he would be able to bear whatever happened to him. He hadn't been raised and bred in the Li Clan for nothing. Earnestly, he waited with the rest of the guardsmen for the dawn to break.  
  
The next morning saw Syaoran and Sakura still trudging aimlessly with their vanquishers. Sakura was about to collapse as they climbed another endless sand dune, but looking over as Syaoran, she saw his face set in a firm resolution to get out of this alive. She sighed and tried to do the same thing. She found that almost impossible, and as she neared the top of the dune, she stumbled slightly. It was nearly invisible to the eye, only a slight faltering, but Syaoran had noticed. Quickly, he moved closer to her to support her.  
  
She managed to smile at him, a quick fleeting falsity in this world. As they rose over the dune, Sakura gasped in astonishment at the city that lay in the oasis before them. Tall buildings made out of marble rose over the high city walls that were made out of impenetrable gray granite. Temples of majestic structure and columns dotted the city, almost everywhere. Regular houses were also huge, made out of sandstone in every imaginable color. They were at least twice the size of a two-story house, expanse in size and beauty. The tallest building, however, was the one that caught Sakura's eye as they traveled down the sand.  
  
As she entered the city through its magnificent walls, she was amazed again at how many sounds and smells she was hit with. The delightful fragrance of fresh bread wafted through the air, along with the smells of fresh produce. The sewers smell was also distinct, though not as strong as the smells of flowers as they trekked past a flower shop.  
  
The city was huge! It was filled with so many different alleyways that Sakura knew she would be lost within a minute if she tried to escape. Hidden barely from view, she could see shanties stacked together, made out of wood.  
  
The bigger houses had great courtyards. People sat in them, dressed elegantly in robes of silk, eating and talking. Water fountains were abundant, as were gardens.  
  
Then the abundance of all different types of people was also surprising to her. Peddlers, merchants, slaves, noblemen, peasants, soldiers, buyers, even little children roamed the streets. All different colors mingled together. Different skin, hair, and eyes.  
  
Sakura's own eyes could barely take in everything that she saw as they were herded through the streets. The commoners all kept their eyes downcast as Sakura and Syaoran were pushed past them.  
  
Syaoran cursed underneath his breath as he stumbled. A guard hit him hard, and he went sprawling into the ground. Sakura gasped and quickly bent down to help him up. She frowned angrily at the guard. Syaoran scanned the faces of the nearby crowd carefully and was surprised when he saw one of the faces glaring angrily at the guards. He looked again and saw the he was a young man, about 20. His blue eyes contrasted with his brown hair, and Syaoran knew that this one was special.  
  
He stood up and caught the man's eye. A slight nod was all it took for him to understand what was happening. Syaoran continued walking and held onto Sakura's hand tighter.  
  
She noticed that they had arrived at the largest building in the city, the one that had caught her eye before. She looked at it more closely now.  
  
It was a luxurious palace with abundant trees and water that slowly seeped down in numerous waterfalls throughout the outside garden. Marble statues dotted the garden, but it was the castle that drew Sakura's breath away.  
  
It rose up in the sky, made out of white marble. It had two large domes and many arches and columns. Beautifully sculpted, and crenellations perfectly shaped, Sakura had never seen anything quite like it before.  
  
But Sakura and Syaoran were marched down a flight of stairs into the gloomy darkness while their captors stayed above ground to talk with another man that had appeared out of one of the palace's doors. Sakura gripped Syaoran's hand even tighter as a cold draft hit them.  
  
"What are you doing?" Syaoran asked suddenly, sharply, to the soldiers that were now in charge of them. "Where are you taking us?"  
  
Laughing evilly, the first man swung around to regard Syaoran with mild indifference.  
  
"Fights between slaves are just so much fun to watch!" he snickered.  
  
Sakura's breath fell away and her face paled. Was Syaoran getting thrown into a fight or was she? She shivered, not being able to picture anyone who would have to go against Syaoran.  
  
Syaoran glanced around him suspiciously and was suddenly startled as Sakura was snatched away from his grip.  
  
Whirling around in desperation, he clawed at empty air to regain her hand. He frantically reached out to clasp her hand once more, but to no avail. They were separated by force and imposed to go down different pathways.  
  
"Sakura!" Syaoran yelled to her, struggling against more than 30 guards, compared to the three that had taken Sakura away.  
  
"Syaoran!" her panicked scream echoed in his ears.  
  
Syaoran unwillingly went along with his captors, leaving most of them with an impression of a good fighter, and all with some marks that would last more than a few days. But he was eventually pushed into a cell that was padlocked and then his guards leered at him outside while he made futile attempts to hit them, knocking out anyone of them that came too close.  
  
Suddenly, they rushed off as another guard came down the corridor yelling, "He's coming! He's coming!"  
  
Syaoran straightened up as he felt the presence of a powerful man walking down the hallway to his cell. He had kept his eyes downward until he saw the uniform that the man wore. Defiantly, he looked up and was startled as he recognized the boy from before.  
  
"Who are you?" Syaoran managed to blurt out before the man had a chance to speak.  
  
"Funny you should ask. Usually, when I get a new Fighter to train, I put them through a test...but when I get a new Fighter who had single-handedly beat off almost all of my guards, even if they are a bunch of fools, then I take a closer look..." the man said, peering intently into Syaoran's face.  
  
"Who are you?" Syaoran pushed the question again. "And what am I doing here...and where is here?"  
  
"Nosy, nosy," the man said good-naturedly. "If I let you out and release you, you must promise me that you won't hurt me or go looking for that girl that came along with you."  
  
Syaoran stiffened immensely.  
  
"I know, I know that she meant a lot to you...I could tell with the way that you look at each other...other people are not as observant as me. That's why I make such a good Gladiator trainer, I guess," he ended.  
  
"Do you agree?"  
  
Syaoran glared at him, looked down and thought about it, and then asked one question. "Is she OK?"  
  
"Yes," the man said.  
  
"Fine," Syaoran snapped.  
  
With a click, the man released Syaoran.  
  
"But, that doesn't mean that I won't hurt your guards!" Syaoran said threateningly.  
  
"Alright, as long as you don't hurt them too bad. No killing, who know, I might just need them someday...maybe as bait for the lions."  
  
"Your name?" Syaoran asked impatiently as they walked down the hallway.  
  
"My name...you may call me Kyoto."  
  
"Kyoto? Alright, what's going on here?"  
  
"Your name first," Kyoto said.  
  
"Li," Syaoran said.  
  
"Li? I thought I heard the girl call you something else in the hallways..." Kyoto stopped walking to look at Syaoran.  
  
"My full name is not...my name is Li. You must have misheard something," Syaoran repeated.  
  
Kyoto looked at him skeptically, but he continued to talk. "This is a Gladiator training facility. The Mistress runs it. She rules this world with an iron hand, and I immensely distrust her. Her cousin is much kinder and rules a section of this world with much kindness. All the people love him, while she must keep her popularity with bribes. I am training you...if you succeed in winning 20 all of your battles consecutively, you are granted your freedom."  
  
"So I must become a Gladiator? Against who am I suppose to fight against?" Syaoran asked impatiently.  
  
"It will depend, sometimes fierce animals, and sometimes other Gladiators."  
  
"Do we get prizes for winning?"  
  
"Usually, yes. Some men prefer it to others, but it will depend on your taste and how you were brought up morally. After so much training, some men prefer some...shall I say, entertainment? The women are usually high-bred and slaves, almost always captured on raids against the Grafters."  
  
Syaoran growled in disgust, and then suddenly remembered about Sakura. His face paled, as he thought of what might be happening to her at this very instant. All of the soldier's that he had seen were men.  
  
"Sakura," he whispered. "Stay strong. Hold on."  
  
Sakura was holding out well on her own. As she had disappeared from Syaoran's sight, she had slapped one of the guards as he had tried to touch her body.  
  
"Ooh, we've got a feisty one, alright,' he sneered at her and his two companions.  
  
Sakura struggled again, in vain. "Syaoran," she whispered mellifluously. A single tear rolled down her cheek, unnoticed by the three men who were laughing uproariously.  
  
First, she was left with another woman, who was silent the entire time that she was with her. As soon as Sakura had seen that she was alone with an old woman, she headed for the door. But she never made it out, as the three soldiers were outside waiting for her. She was hauled back in and thrown on the ground.  
  
"Just be a good girl, and maybe we won't hurt you, too much!" the men sneered at her. "Much!"  
  
Sakura glared up at them in hatred, but followed the woman's directions. She was bathed in a marble bath, an ancient-looking one, and then soaked in oils and perfumes.  
  
Too tired to refuse to do anything now, she obediently held still as the woman braided her hair up. Her long hair was washed and pulled up into a tight pile on top of her head. She was made to wear a dark blue dress, almost in a form of a toga.  
  
The men returned after Sakura had eaten a pile of grapes, being completely famished from her journey. The woman had disappeared, leaving Sakura alone in a room.  
  
Sakura was pulled around again down the hallway and then thrust into a dark room. The men glared at her, her pitiful form huddling on floor. A human being would feel a twinge of sympathy for her, but the three men were far past being human.  
  
They snickered at her again and then closed the door behind them. Sakura heard a click as it locked. She threw herself upon the carpeted ground and began sobbing uncontrollably, letting the tears fall down her face without falter.  
  
"Syaoran," she murmured over and over again.  
  
Sakura, stay strong. Hold on. She started as she heard his voice echoing in her ears.  
  
She fell asleep, from grief, and the total amount of sleep piling up on her, a magic sleep that healed all of her wounds, though they were only the ones on the outside.  
  
As Sakura woke up, she suddenly realized that she was now on the bed and covered in blankets. She kept her eyes closed, as she suddenly remembered about the past few days experiences.  
  
"Maybe it was all a dream," she said softly to herself. Cautiously, she opened her eyes, and then sighed as she realized that she was still in the same chambers, just on the bed that was on the other side of the room. She wondered who had laid her on the bed and pulled the sheets closer to her as she shivered. Then she remembered about Syaoran.  
  
"Syaoran," she whimpered. If Sakura hadn't been so caught up in her grief, she might've noticed another magic presence entering the room. It paused when it felt her and recognized whom she was. Silently, it closed the door and waited.  
  
As Sakura's cries and sobs diminished, she suddenly felt a magic presence throbbing to life near her. It was a strong force, one that she should've felt before.  
  
"Syaoran?" she whispered again to the dark room. Glancing around, she saw that it was lavishly decorated. Colors were well complimented against each other, and she could tell that most of the ornaments and furniture were expensive pieces.  
  
"Sakura?" she heard a voice murmur, and she knew immediately who it was. The aura was completely different, not as warm, but also inviting.  
  
"Kent?" she asked, her eyes widening in surprise.  
  
"Yes," he answered, stepping into her view from behind the shadows for her to see him. Sakura guessed that he must have been in this place for a while since he was wearing a white toga, like the many rich men that she had seen on her way here.  
  
"What are you doing in my room?" he asked her surprised, and then he suddenly started, as if he realized why.  
  
"Where am I?" she said to him. "And where's Syaoran? What've you done to him? Why in the world.I hate you for causing this!" she cried out to him.  
  
Kent grimaced, his face contorting into an unreadable expression.  
  
He slowly walked over to where Sakura was sitting on the bed. She backed away from him, afraid of what he was going to do to her, afraid that he was going to hurt her.  
  
Instead, he sat down next to her on the bed and slowly let out a long sigh.  
  
"Sakura.I.I.don't know how to explain this to you.I guess I deserve your hatred, after all that I've done with Leisa.I'm sorry about Syaoran.I think that he's probably been sold to the gladiators, which is where prisoners that are new here usually go to. I.bought you because.well, I bought you."  
  
Sakura could feel his aura slowly shifting to a mix of calmness and slight guilt. He was trying to relax. She took one of his hands, slowly, and interlocked their fingers.  
  
"Please." she said softly. "Please, tell me. I.I really need to know this."  
  
Kent sighed again, and then began his story, hesitating slightly.  
  
"Leisa and I.we've always been close as cousins. We were both left as orphans from a fire when we were younger. We decided to stick together; we were all that we had to each other after the fire. All of our relatives... gone.one day.I got sick.terribly sick. We lived on the streets, so I guess I just picked something up. I was about to die, and I could barely face this fact.of leaving Leisa alone by herself. Leisa, she told me later, was really concerned about me, but I was so sick that I barely remember anything. These two nomadic spirits appeared to us. They promised to save me, us, if we would find something for them. We had find this deck of powerful cards that he called the Clow Cards and reunite it with a deck of cards that they gave us called the Fóng Deck. We had to put the two decks of cards together to form the Máng deck. It was supposed to be invincible. Leisa agreed and I was saved, and miraculously, we were able to find a mansion that was deserted. Food appeared on the table every morning for us to eat and we were never bothered by anyone. We spent awhile, ten years, to get our lives together, and finally look for the Clow Deck. We arrived this year.in Japan."  
  
"So it was you two who sent all those new cards after us!" Sakura said, more as a statement than a question. Glancing over at her, Kent saw that she didn't look surprised, just intrigued by the story, and slightly wistful. He wondered how much she was going to hate him afterwards.  
  
Sakura stared at him, still puzzled. How did Leisa and him end up here then, and why in the world had she and Syaoran been pulled into this world also?  
  
"I'm so, so sorry, Sakura. I truly didn't want to do any of this to you, or hurt you so much. This is all of my fault! If I hadn't gotten so sick, Leisa wouldn't have had to agree with these spirits and none of this would've happened. I'm not even human anymore!" Kent said, trying to keep his anger down and apologize to Sakura.  
  
"Kent," Sakura said in a soft voice. "You're still a human, as much as I am. Listen." She bent her head down against his chest, where she could hear his heartbeat and pressed her hand, still interlocked with his to his chest.  
  
She could hear his heartbeat speeding up and she lifted her head up. His face had turned a slight shade of red.  
  
Gently touching his cheek, she smiled at him faintly. "You see, you're still a human. You have so many emotions still."  
  
Kent smiled back at her. He had known that she was a caring person, but he hadn't thought that it would have been able to extend to him after she had found out about everything. Cautiously, he fingered the earring in his left ear.  
  
"C'mon," he said to her as he stood up. "I can take you to find Syaoran. Maybe we'll be able to free him right now, and if we can't, I'll be able to ensure that he's safe, and I'll be able to ensure that you're free also. This way, both of you will be safe for now, and you'll both be relieved."  
  
Sakura stood up, eternally grateful to Kent. She followed him out of the room in a rush. Not one thought of Leisa went through his head as he walked out the door.  
  
Syaoran watched carefully as his opponent swung his sword towards him. He sighed. This was too easy. Without hesitation, he skipped into the space that was now open to him and scored a hit on the chest armor.  
  
His adversary growled in anger as Syaoran nimbly jumped out before the sword that he swung could hit Syaoran.  
  
Syaoran rolled his eyes as his opponent carelessly left open another easy place to hit on his body as he pushed closer to Syaoran. A third hit from him on his opponent's back was all that was needed for him to win the practice spar.  
  
Syaoran deftly pushed his sword back into its sheath, and glanced at his opponent to see his reaction to Syaoran's easy win and his easy defeat. The ones who showed anger and hatred in their eyes were the ones that he needed to watch.  
  
He straightened as he realized that his opponent was more in awe of him than in anger. Sighing, he calmly walked off of the arena and watched the other fighters combat.  
  
He was then led back to his enclosed room and laid down on his cot, exhausted. Sweat ran down his back and he wiped the perspiration off from his forehead. He had spent the better part of this morning combating against other fighters so that Kyoto would be able to see how well his training was.  
  
He closed his eyes to think about Sakura again. Her green eyes and auburn hair were impressed into his memory, chiseled in forever.  
  
He could almost hear her voice now, but he was dreaming. Syaoran opened his eyes in surprise as he heard it again.  
  
"Sakura?" he whispered into the air.  
  
He heard the stall door open, and her face looked in. Syaoran was up in an instant and crushed her to him in a firm hug. Sakura was almost dizzy with the relief that he was fine.  
  
He pushed her back to look at her. "Are you alright?" he asked her, looking at her straight in the eyes. "They didn't do anything to you?"  
  
Sakura shook her head. "No, not yet. And I doubt that they will. I have to show you someone."  
  
Syaoran paused as he sensed a presence and began to understand. He nodded curtly at Kent as he appeared in the prison door and all three of them closed the door behind them to talk.  
  
"Well?" Syaoran asked Kent. "Please explain to me."  
  
Kent sighed, and then he repeated the entire story to Syaoran, leaving out most of the more emotional parts.  
  
Syaoran was amazed when he heard the story, but not as astonished as he was when he found out that Sakura was Kent's slave.  
  
He pulled her closer to him, and lightly kissed her. "Don't worry, Sakura. We're going to get out of this," he promised her.  
  
She nodded, but she wouldn't look at him in the eye. "I know." Kent noticed and was just as puzzled as Syaoran.  
  
"Kyoto.Meiji Kyoto. He can help us with this," Syaoran said to Kent.  
  
"Yes, he will be able to. I trust him.more than I trust Leisa, I'm sad to say.but I love her too. She's my cousin."  
  
Syaoran understood. "So will you be able to free me soon?"  
  
Kent nodded. "Tomorrow night will be the best night. Leisa is throwing a party.where she'll be bribing everyone again. I'll be able to sneak away, since everyone knows that I hate social events anyway. Everyone will be too busy for the party to notice too much, besides. I hold a lot of power here. I can help you escape off this island to the mainland. There's a portal on the other side of the land where you'll be able to return to our world." He stopped as he heard voices coming down the hallway.  
  
"I'll talk to Kyoto. I'll see you here tomorrow night. Be prepared," he warned Syaoran. Sakura exited the room first, after a lingering kiss with Syaoran.  
  
"I love you," he whispered into her ear. She walked out with a wistful expression on her face, not looking back at all.  
  
"Don't worry Syaoran," Kyoto said to him as he observed Syaoran watching Sakura walking out.  
  
"She's with me. I won't let any harm come to her. I promise you."  
  
Syaoran smiled in relief. "Arigato, Kent-kun. I don't know how in the world I'll be able to repay you."  
  
Kent smiled. "You already have." He walked out and locked the door behind him. "Be careful," he cautioned Syaoran, a few seconds before the guards walked up.  
  
Syaoran watched Kent swagger off, back into his role as the ruler of the kingdom.  
  
Sakura sighed as Kent showed her to her room.  
  
"This is where I'm going to be staying?" she asked him.  
  
He nodded. "The best I could get on such short notice. We usually have extra rooms at the palace all the time, but the Rinkers are here, so we had to give up most of the clean rooms.I feel so sorry for the maids that need to clean theirs up."  
  
Sakura smiled slightly. "Kent, don't worry too much about me. We'll get through this and all get back home together."  
  
Kent nodded, grinning encouragingly at her, though his eyes were still in reflection and thought.  
  
"Sakura.you know, about Syaoran."  
  
Sakura looked at him curiously.  
  
"I've noticed that you were slightly detached from Syaoran back in the prison.is anything wrong?"  
  
Sakura watched Kent carefully, almost trying to catch him deceiving her.  
  
"Kent.do I really have to talk about this?" she whined to him.  
  
He nodded firmly. "What's wrong?" He gently pushed Sakura into the room and closed the door behind him firmly. The distant moonlight reflected off of Sakura's face, somehow making her seem a bit melancholic.  
  
"Kent.you know.alright. I just don't feel.feel.the same with him anymore."  
  
Kent raised his eyebrows. "Why not?"  
  
"I don't know. Honestly!" Sakura raised her eyes to look at Kent. "I don't know!" she whispered to the room, almost like she had forgotten that Kent was there.  
  
"Sakura, you have to realize that Syaoran loves you. He will do anything for you. He loves you that much! Can't you see that?"  
  
Sakura nodded, tears streaming down her face, lit up in the moonlight. "I know that. But he just seems so distant sometimes. He's just grown up in such a different way from me. I don't know if we have enough ways to connect and relate to each other."  
  
Kent's face softened. "Sakura, love is a wonderful thing. It can overcome so many barriers that are set before you. You see? Culture is something that you'll both overcome together. I know it. You two were meant to be together. Don't ever doubt that."  
  
Sakura nodded again, smiling faintly at Kent. "Domo arigato, Kent!" She hugged him tight once before he pushed her away.  
  
"Don't get too carried away," he warned her. "I'll wake you up tomorrow. Do not open the door to anyone unless you hear 3 knocks and then your name. Make sure that it's me. Don't forget that Leisa is still here, plus, the men here are very rowdy!"  
  
"Thanks, night, Kent," Sakura closed the door gently behind her as he went out. She waited until she heard Kent's fading footsteps in the hallway.  
  
Quickly, she changed into the cotton pajamas that she found next to her bed.  
  
Then, she collapsed onto her bed, exhausted. "Good night, Syaoran," she murmured. "Night Tomoyo-chan, 'nii-chan, otou-san, okaa-san, Hiiragiwaza- kun, Chiharu-chan, Rika-chan, Meilin-chan, Hi.Hiyo.Hiyoshi.kun." She yawned loudly and then drifted off into dreamland.  
  
She woke up the next morning, almost willing to believe that she had just been dreaming last night.  
  
Anxiously, she opened her eyes and was disappointed as she saw that she was in the same walled in room. She sighed, and then rose up.  
  
She spotted a fresh, new dress next to her bed again and was surprised. Had Kent left it, or had someone else slipped in?  
  
She slipped it on, a slim white dress, decorated with a few embroidered flowers. It only had one strap, so it looked modern enough to Sakura.  
  
Cautiously, she opened the door and almost screamed as she saw Kent's face next to hers. He looked equally surprised, but was quick enough with his reflexes to clamp his hand on Sakura's mouth before she was able to scream.  
  
"Are you OK?" he asked her quietly. She nodded. "Sleep well?" Nod. "Can I let you go now?" She nodded yet again.  
  
"You scared me!" she yelled at him.  
  
He smirked. "I knew you were a baby."  
  
She pouted at him, and then matured. "What are we supposed to do today? How are you going to explain me? Am I supposed to be your slave?"  
  
Kent paused. "I don't know what I should have you as.I'm not sure whether or not Leisa would recognize you or not if I escorted you to the party tonight. You know, it would look even more legitimate if that did happen, and then both of us disappeared. That way everyone would think that."  
  
Sakura interrupted him. "All right! All right. So I'll go with you to this party tonight. Do I get a maid or something?"  
  
A scream that reverberated within Sakura's ears suddenly cut through the air. "Stop it! Help!"  
  
Sakura started and then quickly opened the door. "What was that?" It sounded suspiciously familiar.could it be? But how could anyone I known from Japan have gotten here?  
  
She ran towards the direction of the scream, Kent close behind her.  
  
"It sounded really familiar.like someone I knew.like." Sakura shouted back to him. He nodded, just following her.  
  
Sakura abruptly entered into a large courtyard and saw a crowd of guards gathered towards one of the exits around something.  
  
She slowed down to let Kent take over. "Hey, you! What has happened?" he questioned.  
  
One of the guards turned around and saw Kent. "Oh, your highness!"  
  
"Spread apart, and stand straight! I want to see what's behind this mess that you lot of barbarians have managed to ruin, once again!" Kent commanded.  
  
Quickly, the soldiers did that.  
  
Sakura gasped as she saw who was in the middle. "Meilin!"  
  
"Sakura?" Meilin tried to rise up, but she was too bruised.  
  
"Oh my God! Meilin!" Sakura rushed up to her and hugged her. "How in the world did you.did this happen to you?"  
  
"Tell you later," Meilin croaked to her. "Please, I need to sleep now.just sleep."  
  
"Meilin!" Sakura shouted. She bent down to make sure that Meilin was still breathing, and then motioned to Kent.  
  
"Can we get her back into my room?"  
  
"Hai!" Kent replied. He ordered two soldiers to retrieve Meilin to carry her.  
  
"How dare you? This is my guest's personal maid! You have harmed her personally, and I have caught you! You should all be flogged and hung!" Kent thundered out loud to the cowering soldiers. "Get back to your posts! I'll deal with you all later!" Quickly, the soldiers scrambled to obey him.  
  
"How did she?"  
  
Sakura shrugged. "I'm not sure. How could she have.no idea."  
  
"Well, we need to prepare for tonight. I'm going to have to show you how to dance in the style here and how to act and everything."  
  
Sakura nodded. "All right, I'm ready. But Meilin."  
  
Kent smiled. "Always watching out for everyone else. She's going to be fine. I think that she was just exhausted and she might be emotionally scarred, but I think that she'll be fine."  
  
"But she'll need someone near her when she wakes up," Sakura protested.  
  
"Yes, I know, but she won't wake up for a while. Don't worry, Sakura," Kent told her reassuringly. "We need to prepare so that we won't draw too much attraction to ourselves, and then you'll be able to escape with Syaoran and Meilin tonight."  
  
Sakura nodded. "All right. Show me."  
  
Kent slowly taught her how to act, talk and dress according to the style here in the city of Gydoria.  
  
Sakura was exhausted and tired by the time that she was released to go change for the party.  
  
"Kent, what if I fall asleep or somehow embarrass myself?"  
  
"You'll be fine, Sakura," he supported her.  
  
She was still skeptical, but obediently, she headed up to change. Kent watched her, and then quickly changed himself.  
  
Then, before she finished, he hurried to the prison.  
  
"Syaoran? Where's Syaoran?" he asked the guard.  
  
"That man you visited last night? He was taken away." the guard said. Kent's face clouded over. Leisa.  
  
"By Kyoto."  
  
Kent's face lit up in surprise. When he had talked to Kyoto last night, he had been skeptical, but he hoped that Syaoran had been able to persuade Kyoto to help them.  
  
Sakura entered her room and greeted Meilin, who was now wide-awake.  
  
"Sakura! What happened? Was that Kent that I saw you with? Where's Syaoran? Sakura.I don't like what I'm seeing here."  
  
Sakura laughed. "Meilin-chan, it's not what you think. I swear. Syaoran is.well.this place is different." She proceeded to tell Meilin everything.  
  
"Wow!" Meilin said, in awe and astonishment of everything.  
  
"So, how did you get here?" Sakura asked Meilin, accusingly.  
  
"Oh.umm.I was watching you guys, and once you were gone, I headed towards Kent's dressing room, and he had a portal there too."  
  
"Oh," Sakura said, surprised.  
  
"Do you need help?" Meilin asked as she saw Sakura struggling to change into her dress.  
  
Sakura nodded her head, thankful that Meilin was there.  
  
"There!" Meilin said, finally finished with Sakura's makeup. She had improvised with many things, being that makeup wasn't really available in a convenient way there.  
  
"Good thing that I had my bag with me when I was brought here," Meilin said. She firmly closed her makeup bag, which had been overflowing with lipstick, gloss, eye shadow, mascara, and eyelash curlers, among various other beauty products.  
  
Sakura opened the door slowly when she heard the knock. Meilin had fallen asleep again, tired from everything. Kent's mouth dropped in surprise as he saw her. She was elegantly draped in a cloth of a soft red color. It contrasted with her emerald eyes, but brought out the rich brown color of her hair more.  
  
"Sakura." was the only word that he could get out.  
  
"What? I look really bad, don't I?" she asked him, pouting a bit.  
  
"No, you look umm.lovely!" he said to her breathlessly.  
  
"C'mon, we're going to be late," Sakura said to him. "I talked to Meilin and told her everything. She's fine, and will be able to come with us tonight home, of course."  
  
"Great, so let's go!" Kent grabbed Sakura's hand and calmly led her down the corridor to the party.  
  
"Good luck," Kent whispered to Sakura as they entered the room.  
  
Sakura was caught up in a whirlwind of activity. Dancers were everywhere, and food was plentiful. She suddenly spotted Leisa up ahead of her, lounging comfortably on a large cushion. She was flirting outrageously with her slave, a nice-looking European.  
  
Sakura clung onto Kent's hand tighter, not willing to get lost.  
  
"Kent.when are we allowed to slip away?"  
  
"Once the dinner is over and all we're doing is talking and dancing.well, if you really want to, I guess that I can try to get away earlier. But you're going to have go through some lewd things." he looked over at her anxiously.  
  
Sakura nodded. "Alright. I just want to go home, now."  
  
Kent smiled faintly at her. "We're still going to have to eat. Especially you." He was firmly guiding her through the crowd, his hand on her waist.  
  
"Oh, Kent.I just remembered. Syao.you know, your sister. She took his powers away from him, or did something to him. Do you think that.maybe you could.do you."  
  
Kent nodded. "Of course. I know exactly what she did. We'll do it on our way out, when everyone is here, OK?"  
  
Sakura nodded.  
  
Both of them sat down near the opposite side of the room from Leisa.  
  
"Hey, Peter!" Kent yelled out to one of the slaves. "Get us some drinks here!"  
  
A mild-looking boy appeared a few minutes later, blue eyes meekly lowered, brown hair falling into them.  
  
"Check out my new girl!" Kent crowed to him, forcing him to raise his eyes up.  
  
Sakura blushed, now understanding what Kent was going to make her do.  
  
Peter nodded in agreement. "Yeah, nice girl, you've always got good picks, Your Highness."  
  
"I know," Kent said in a dismissing tone of voice. Peter bowed, and then walked away.  
  
Kent glanced at Sakura. "You see, that's what."  
  
Sakura nodded. "I know."  
  
"Good.here comes my top advisor, he might be touching you a lot.just be careful, and nudge me if you're getting too harassed," he whispered to her.  
  
She nodded again, and then watched a black-haired man slowly make his way to them.  
  
"Ahh, another nice one," he announced as soon as he reached them, his eyes on Sakura only. She modestly lowered her eyes, trying to breathe slowly, regularly. She at least kept herself from twitching too much as the man touched her upper thigh. Kent immediately slapped the man.  
  
"My girl! Don't tough her."  
  
"Oh yes, of course, your Highness. Do you see that one dancer over there? She's moving beautifully, she's one fine specimen!"  
  
"Yes, she is, Akimoto," Kent said, trying to keep disgust out of his voice.  
  
"You should spend a night with her Your Highness!" Aki suggested to Kent.  
  
Sakura's hand tightened on Kent's, and he nodded to Aki. "Of course, isn't that Lelita? I think of her every night!"  
  
"Good!"  
  
"But, I think that I'm set right now," Kent drooled to Aki, motioning to Sakura.  
  
"Ah, she's fine also," Aki said, but he was clearly disappointed.  
  
"Now, do you think my cousin would mind if I disappeared earlier? You know, because." Kent motioned to Sakura.  
  
Aki nodded in understanding. "No, I don't think so. I'll tell her if she asks."  
  
"Good. Aki, I think that you should go try out the caviar," Kent said to him, dismissing him.  
  
"He's always trying to get me with her.I think that he's got a plot with her to kill me, overthrow me, or something." Kent murmured quietly to Sakura as he watched Aki move away.  
  
She nodded. "I see. So we're going to sneak away earlier, under false pretenses of.umm.yeah."  
  
Kent smiled at her, nodding. "Yeah. I just hope that Leisa doesn't recognize you. I don't think she will though, since you look a lot prettier tonight." Suddenly, he blushed, realizing what he had just said. Sakura looked away, her face hot also.  
  
"Do you know when this is going to be over?" Sakura asked him, trying to keep calm.  
  
He paused. "Soon? Then we're going to stop over at Leisa's room.more like her own castle, and then head to Kyoto's where Meilin and Syaoran will be waiting."  
  
"Do you know what we're getting at Leisa's?" Sakura questioned him. He nodded.  
  
"Yeah, I helped her to make the cage for it, so I know how to break it for him too."  
  
"Good." Sakura's voice trailed off.  
  
"Don't worry. We're going to get out of this OK." Kent reassured her. She nodded and leant into him, playing out her part as his new love.  
  
"Hey everyone, listen up!" She suddenly heard Leisa's voice cutting through the crowd. Sakura sat up and looked towards the middle of the room where Leisa was standing.  
  
"Kent," she whispered.  
  
"I know.time to go?" he asked her.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Time to dance!" Leisa shouted above everyone else.  
  
Quickly and unobserved, Kent and Sakura sneaked out of the party. Kent led Sakura through the castle to Leisa's own room. Inside, however, it was completely different. It was a massive castle, lavishly decorated with millions of things. Sakura walked through it, absorbed with its garlands.  
  
Sakura was drawn to a beautiful vase, which seemed to be of Greek origin. She gently touched it and was shocked by the immense source of power that surged through her.  
  
"Hurry up, Sakura!" Kent yelled from ahead. She ran towards him, and he handed her a tiny orb of light. Just holding it made Sakura smile, for it contained Syaoran's powers inside of it, and they were connected to him.  
  
"All right, let's go," she told Kent. He nodded. Holding onto her tightly, he whispered a word of command and both of them transported out of Leisa's room, not willing to chance being in there much longer.  
  
But unknowingly, Sakura had triggered an alarm to Leisa when she had touched the vase.  
  
Back at the party, Leisa stiffened. "Why was he just in my room.with.ugh. Sakura. I knew she would do this to him. "I'm leaving," she announced to her guards. "Keep the party going, don't let anyone leave until I return."  
  
Sakura waited anxiously outside of the house of Kyoto with Meilin. "Why is this taking so long? Something's wrong, I know it," she whispered.  
  
"Sakura, calm down!" Meilin berated her. "We haven't even been out here for more than ten minutes. He's coming. Don't worry."  
  
Sakura sighed and watched the door carefully. "Hurry up. Syaoran," she said to herself.  
  
Finally, the door opened and Kent walked out, Syaoran behind him. Sakura was almost unable to restrain herself. Another man, with blue eyes and brown hair was behind them. Sakura heard Meilin inhale sharply.  
  
"What is it?" Sakura asked her.  
  
"That's.that's.what in the world is he doing here?"  
  
Sakura was puzzled.  
  
"Meilin, c'mon, let's go," she called to her. Syaoran swung Sakura in a circle, and then crushed her to him.  
  
"Sakura," he murmured into her ear. "I thought that I had lost you. Don't you ever do that to me again!"  
  
Sakura smiled. "I love you, Syaoran." She gently opened his hand, and deposited the jewel that she had found. He stared in amazement at it.  
  
"How."  
  
"Shhh.don't worry. It's yours, just keep it."  
  
"Arigato, Sakura-chan," Syaoran said to her. She nodded.  
  
She still doesn't know how lost I was without it, worrying so much that I wouldn't be able to protect her if I didn't have it with me. And she had to be the one to return it to me? Well, I know that I'm never going to be separated from her again! Syaoran vowed to himself.  
  
Meilin slowly approached the man. "Kyoto?" she asked softly. The man turned around.  
  
His eyes widened. "Meilin? What the.how did you get here?"  
  
"Same question to you. I didn't know that you had magic.aren't you a famous movie star? Why.OK, I'm getting really confused. Let's just get out here first, all right?"  
  
Kyoto nodded. "I only have three horses, so we're going to have to double up. Syaoran nodded and quickly helped Sakura up onto his horse. Meilin waited patiently for one of the others to help her. Kyoto went first, and gently lifted her up.  
  
"All ready?" he asked her as he ascended besides her. She nodded.  
  
"Yeah, let's go."  
  
Quickly, Kent led them across the castle grounds to the gates, and ordered the guards to release them, and not tell his cousin about them.  
  
"Hurry!" Kent yelled to them as they fled across a large field, headed towards the docks.  
  
Thunder rumbled above them, and lightning flickered. Sakura felt Syaoran come closer to her, comforting her from her terror.  
  
"We're almost there, don't worry!" Kent shouted back to them as they passed another town. With another loud rumble of thunder, rain came pouring down.  
  
Sakura cowered beneath Syaoran's frame, his body shielding her from the pellets of rain that ripped at his clothing. Soon, all of them were soaking with rain.  
  
They arrived at the harbor, the horses' hooves clanging dully on the wooden floor of the docks. Syaoran spun around, suddenly feeling a burst of anger from behind him. Sakura gasped as she saw a huge monster of destruction come up from behind them.  
  
A black mass of fiery with red eyes, it narrowed its eyes as it saw Sakura's gang.  
  
"Oh my," she whispered. "What is it?"  
  
"I don't know." Syaoran said to her. Kent pulled them forward.  
  
"Hurry up, get to the ship! I'll deal with it!"  
  
"No, Kent, you can't!" Sakura said to him, filled with fear.  
  
"Yes, I can," Kent told her firmly. "This is one of the most powerful cards, and I must deal with it myself. You need to go, Leisa is trying to delay you from your escape. I know that you can capture it yourself, but you also need to escape from here! Go!"  
  
He tried to push Sakura into the rowing ship, where Meilin and Syaoran were already waiting with Kyoto, but she held back.  
  
"Kent, you have to come back with us!" she begged him. He smiled at her, a faint smile of regret.  
  
"I can't. You know that. I have to stay here.remember when I told you what I had done, and I didn't tell you why I was here? I.Leisa and I came here because I.convinced her that it was best for us to stay away from you. That one night at Daidouji-chan's house.when you were talking to Li-kun about us.I was watching you.listening to you talking. It changed me. I convinced her to get out of Earth, to go to a different dimension, to create out own world. We fought so long against the spirits that captured us the first time.we overcame them.and we escaped here. We created this entire world, but we didn't plan to come here until after the play.the school year had ended. But somehow, the spirits took Leisa over again.and pulled us back into this world, dragging you along with us. I have to stay here now, because I don't have any place in your world, I never belonged there. I'm sorry, Sakura, but I belong here, with Leisa, with the world here that we've created."  
  
Sakura nodded, finally understanding, though tears were streaming down her cheeks, mingling with the pouring rain.  
  
"Don't ever forget, Kent, that you are still a human, no matter what has happened to you. Deep down inside, you have the spirit, the life, of one who truly cares about people," Sakura whispered to him.  
  
He nodded. "Sakura, you be careful too. Go, now!"  
  
"Kent,"  
  
"Go, I'd give you a hug or something, Sakura.but he's watching, you know. Just, you know. Take care of yourself."  
  
Sakura flung her arms around Kent. "Be careful," she whispered to him.  
  
Kent gently pushed Sakura into Syaoran's waiting arms.  
  
A lone figure on the docks, he faded into the fog as Syaoran and Kyoto rowed them away. Sakura sighed as she saw Kent turn around to face the monster.  
  
Later, halfway across the sea, Sakura turned to Syaoran. Kyoto and Meilin were both sleeping already. Syaoran was keeping the boat afloat on the stormy waters.  
  
"We never did catch all of the cards," she whispered to Syaoran.  
  
"I know," he told her. She looked up at him.  
  
"Syaoran?"  
  
"Eh?" he asked her.  
  
"I'm.gomen ne," she whispered to him.  
  
"Hmm? What for?" he asked in surprise.  
  
"I." Sakura paused. "For not trusting you."  
  
"When?" Syaoran asked, thoroughly puzzled.  
  
"Oh, never mind," Sakura replied, smiling brightly at him.  
  
"All right," Syaoran said, though he was still confused. They were interrupted though, when a particularly nasty wave tossed their boat around harder. Meilin and Kyoto were shaken awake.  
  
"Ugh, what is it?" Meilin asked angrily. Then her eyes widened as she saw the huge wave that was bearing down on them.  
  
"Oh my."  
  
Syaoran hugged Sakura close to him, and Meilin huddled with Kyoto. Screaming, Sakura's voice was drowned out in the roar of the wave as it descended upon them violently, immediately breaking the vessel apart.  
  
The wave rushed upon them with no mercy, tossing all of them overboard into the storm. Sakura gasped for breath, receiving nothing, she opened her eyes and quickly swam for the surface, trying not to panic.  
  
Reaching the top, she gasped for breath, and attempted to stay afloat within the turbulent waters.  
  
"Syaoran! Meilin! Kyoto!" she screamed, trying to be heard over the strident roar of the tempest.  
  
She struggled against the waves, and was about to give up, utterly helpless in the waters, alone and frightened, when she felt something digging into her side.  
  
She turned around, and felt the conch seashell that Rashila had given her, such a long time ago. She hadn't taken it off, forgetting all about it after the incident.  
  
I don't know if they're going to come, but it's worth a try, Sakura thought to herself.  
  
As smoothly as she could, she brought the shell to her lips, and gently blew through the shell, managing to keep the water away from it. She couldn't hear anything though, and she was getting tired from trying to stay in one place. Her legs were just too exhausted for her to tread water anymore. She strove desperately to keep her wits about her, to not fall unconscious.  
  
"Gomen ne, Syaoran," she thought as she succumbed to the waiting darkness.  
  
Syaoran's senses kicked in, and he immediately began coughing as he reached the surface. He took a deep breath, and then reached out with his newly regained powers for Sakura. She was over to his right, semi-conscious.  
  
Quickly, he swam towards her, his strong strokes cutting easily through the sea.  
  
As he neared her, he felt something coming out of the water next to him. "Baka," he swore, feeling rough scales cutting beneath him. It was a shark.  
  
Syaoran grabbed Sakura, lifting her face up so that she could breathe. His fingers felt for her pulse while his eyes trailed the ever-moving shape beneath him. Then his mind clicked. Why would there be a shark near the surface of the water while there was a turbulent storm going on?  
  
Relieved as he still felt Sakura's heart beating, he was surprised as a familiar face shattered the water surface besides him.  
  
"Umm.hi," Syaoran managed to gasp out.  
  
The girl whistled softly, and Syaoran suddenly felt himself lifted up into the air, above the waters. He looked down to see a dolphin carrying him, his legs stretched out on either side of it.  
  
"Rashila?" he stuttered.  
  
"Hi, Sakura-chan's friend, right?"  
  
"How." He nodded, his head swimming with thoughts. He looked down at Sakura, and saw her hand clenching a tiny shell, attached to her as a necklace on a chain.  
  
He smiled down at her and smoothed back a strand of her wet hair that was covering her face.  
  
"There are two other people out here," he told Rashila.  
  
"Yes, my sisters have found them already, just hold on until we arrive at the other side of the sea. They will be waiting for us there," Rashila said to him.  
  
Syaoran nodded. "How long?"  
  
"About.two more hours?"  
  
Syaoran sighed and settled down to get more comfortable on the dolphin. Clutching tightly to Sakura with one hand, his other one holding onto the dolphin.somewhere. He was trying to stay on without falling back into the wild waters.  
  
Rashila swam ahead, guiding her dolphin, Harper. She glanced back at Syaoran and smiled softly at him. Would you like me to call for another dolphin to help you?" she asked him.  
  
Shaking his head, Syaoran thanked her. "I've got it," he said.  
  
Without anything else to talk about, they fell into a lapse of silence. By then, the sea storm had died down to a few fluttering winds across the now calm waters.  
  
Syaoran straightened as he saw land appearing out of the mist ahead of him.  
  
"We're almost there," Rashila told him.  
  
He nodded, and gently shook Sakura. He had been checking her pulse every few minutes, making sure that she was still alive.  
  
"Sakura! Sakura!" he pressed her.  
  
She moaned slightly, some water oozing out of her mouth and then she opened her eyes.  
  
"Syaoran?" she questioned. "Where are we?" she sat up suddenly.  
  
"Rashila!" she gasped as she recognized the mermaid. "I.where are we now?"  
  
"We're almost to the other side of the sea," she told her.  
  
"Syaoran," Sakura looked up at him, her eyes watering, and he enclosed her in his arms. "I almost gave up."  
  
He smiled down at her. She reached up to grasp the necklace that his powers were now enclosed in. They swirled as she gently pushed them with her own powers. She smiled in delight as her own ability mingled with Syaoran's, producing a warm mix of strength.  
  
"Arigato, Syaoran," she whispered to him. "I.love you."  
  
"Aishiteru, Sakura," he murmured back.  
  
"It's land," Rashila shouted out to them. "Can you swim back there? There's a cove nearby that we'll take you too. You can make your way back from there."  
  
Syaoran nodded his thanks to her.  
  
Sakura waved as she saw Kyoto and Meilin on the beach. Beside them was a large mirror type of swirling air.  
  
"Is that the portal?" she asked Syaoran.  
  
He nodded. "Hai, I guess that we're going to have to open it ourselves, and get home by ourselves too."  
  
"Meilin-chan!" Sakura shouted, slipping off of the dolphin. Quickly, she swam towards the beach and hugged Meilin tightly.  
  
Syaoran smiled slightly, and then frowned as he glanced over at Rashila.  
  
"Rashila," he asked.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I recall that you or your sister mentioned something about how Sakura's ancestors helped you out in the past last time. What was it about?" Syaoran asked her.  
  
"Oh, that. Sakura's ancestors were also close to your family, the Li Clan, in Hong Kong, and both of your families have helped us out before from various situations. Nothing too interesting, it was just not her time yet to die and fade from this world, when she has so much in store for her. And you will constantly be at her side, Little Wolf warrior," Rashila ended her statement abruptly.  
  
Sakura waved to Rashila as she disappeared and Syaoran watched her thoughtfully.  
  
Syaoran pointed to the wave of swirling colors, and watched as Meilin and Kyoto walked through it. With a loud swoosh they disappeared. Hesitantly, she walked towards it. Standing before it, she looked in. Syaoran came up besides her and grasped her hand.  
  
"C'mon, we can do it," he said to her.  
  
She nodded, and then closed her eyes as she stepped in. She was rushed through a dizzying array of colors and directions. Feeling as if she was being torn apart, she held on even tighter to Syaoran and tried to keep her screams inside herself.  
  
Applause met her ears as she opened her eyes. She was back on stage with Syaoran. Seeing Eriol in front of her in the left wing of the stage, she met his eyes quickly, and he nodded, barely perceptibly.  
  
She quickly exited the stage with Syaoran and headed towards her changing room. A breathless Meilin greeted her.  
  
"Sakura! What happened to you! Are you all right? I knew that you and Syaoran would make it back together!"  
  
Sakura nodded and smiled at Meilin. "Hai, I am fine."  
  
Sakura tried to get through the rest of the play calmly, but she was flustered. Luckily, Syaoran kept encouraging her with gentle words through her mind whenever she faltered.  
  
Scene five came on, where she was supposed to meet Syaoran for the first time, and this was where they kissed first. Sakura took a deep breath. She had never practiced this with him before. Thankfully, Tomoyo and the directors had agreed that Syaoran didn't have to kiss her directly, but he had to brush her forehead.  
  
"What is wrong here?" Syaoran's voice was questioning and suspicious. Then he sighed, like a man in deep passionate love. Girls in the crowd sighed in bliss also. Sakura blushed and waited for her cue to enter.  
  
"Oh, to be in love. What a wonderful thing. But the one that I love does not love me back. Or does she?"  
  
Sakura was surprised at the passion and love that she heard in Syaoran's voice. He sounded completely out of his real personality. But he was still so real. He sounded like he truly loved her. She held back, not ready to go out yet.  
  
She tilted her head up and stood in an upright position, and then she glided out. Syaoran turned his face towards her and just gaped.  
  
She was wearing a white dress that fitted her body perfectly, showing off all of her natural curves. White pearls had been threaded through her hair and a golden lade ran down the sides of her dress, setting off her green eyes.  
  
He had seen her wear the dress during rehearsals, but she had never seemed so beautiful before. Tomoyo had added all of the right touches.  
  
I Syaoran, your lines!/I Sakura gently reminded him. He swallowed hard and nodded.  
  
"Eh.wow! You look like an angel! Where have you come from?"  
  
"And angel?" Sakura laughed, but the audience could hear the bitterness in it. "No, of course not. I'm just touring London for awhile."  
  
"You seem familiar to me," Syaoran scrutinized her. "Have we met before? Perhaps at tea somewhere?"  
  
Sakura's heart almost tore with the sincerity that Syaoran put into his words. "No," she replied curtly, but the crowd could distinctly tell how she was torn between decision.  
  
"Care to go for a drink?" he asked her, obviously already bewitched by her presence.  
  
"A drink? You've already been there twice today, and you want to go again?" Sakura's hand flew to her mouth, as if in shock that she had just uttered something that she shouldn't have.  
  
Syaoran tilted his head towards her, suspicion in his eyes. "How'd you know that?"  
  
"Lucky guess," Sakura said, but she wasn't fooling anyone.  
  
"What else do you know about me?" he asked. "Are you a stalker?"  
  
Sakura shook her head vigorously. "No! But I do know about you," she allowed.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I know that your name is Riley, and you don't know mine. I know that you're studying biology at college here. I know that you share an apartment with Whitney and Marc. I also know that you love a girl named Yuri. I could tell you a lot of things about you that no one else knows about, such as the time when you went to the psychiatric ward when you were ten years old because you kept seeing angels around you. I can tell you things that you don't know about yourself," Sakura continued on, seeing that Syaoran was completely amazed.  
  
The audience went along with how astonished Riley was that this mysterious woman knew everything about him.  
  
"You are fighting within yourself because you think that you remember something that happened to you that was awesome and great, but you can't remember it completely. Just fragments," Sakura's voice got softer. She was the one who was going to remind him. She would tell him. If only he'd listen to her.  
  
"Who are you?" Riley finally asked her.  
  
"My name is Gina. Does that ring a bell?" she asked him.  
  
Shaking his head, Riley couldn't see the tears that welled up in Sakura's eyes. But the audience could. They knew how disappointed she would be now.  
  
"I've waited so long for this, to be reunited with you once again, and now you don't remember me. You can't remember anything about me? I've missed you, Riley," Sakura said, her soft voice mesmerizing Syaoran and the entire audience.  
  
Tomoyo grinned in delight. Syaoran was only supposed to kiss her forehead here, but.who knew? Sakura was acting as a very convincing Gina. What was going to happen?  
  
"I've missed you too, Gina," Riley said. The audience was still in confusion, as to whether or not he really had figured it out, but the next moment, Riley leant down and touched his forehead to Gina's. She kept her breathing regulated, and closed her eyes.  
  
It was almost over now. Just hurry it up, she thought within her head. Gently, she felt Syaoran touch her cheek with his hand and then his lips fell on hers. Her eyes flew open, and she saw Syaoran in front of her. He was smiling, and she broke away from him.  
  
You weren't supposed to do that! she accused him.  
  
Do what? he asked innocently.  
  
Syaoran!  
  
I was taking advantage of you in that situation.  
  
"Care to join me for a stroll?" he asked, slightly smirking at her.  
  
"Wow, he's so romantic," a junior sighed as she watched Syaoran on stage.  
  
"Well, you know that Sakura-chan and him are a couple," her friend nudged her.  
  
"You know that he's going to dump her as soon as he gets a look at me," a vain senior in front of them ended the conversation.  
  
Touya, in the front row, was clenching his seat handles so tightly that his knuckles were white.  
  
Chuckling, Yuki gently pried his fingers off. "Relax, you knew that they loved each other. And remember your promise to me."  
  
"Promise?" Nakuru asked curiously.  
  
Yuki laughed. "I made Touya promise me not to scream or kill anyone on stage. If he does, then he has to do all of my schoolwork for an entire semester." Nakuru giggled and quickly avoided Touya's death glare at her.  
  
Sakura exited the stage with him, and then ran off to her room without saying anything Syaoran. She was too embarrassed and scared that she would start stammering before him if they confronted offstage. Onstage, she knew all of her lines, and she was playing a completely different person. It didn't matter there.  
  
Thankfully, the rest of the play passed by uneventfully for her, though she was surprised when she saw that Leisa and Kent had returned. Finally, the last scene was here. She took a deep breath and followed Syaoran's example of reciting a simple relaxation spell. He was across from her on the other side of the curtains. This was the scene where they would kiss again, and then she would leave for heaven. She could barely remember if Syaoran had kissed her before, or if he had only hugged her tightly.  
  
Tomoyo gave her a slight nudge from behind. "Go on out, Sakura-chan. You'll do great! I know you will!"  
  
"Arigato, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura smiled. This was it. It was almost over. To keep her smile on her face as she walked out, she pictured Touya's face when he saw her kissing Syaoran again.  
  
"Gina," Syaoran said softly, but loud enough for the whole audience to hear. "Do you truly have to leave me?" Everyone in the crowd held their breath, knowing that this was a special moment.  
  
"I do, Riley," Sakura replied.  
  
"I want to go with you. I don't want you to leave me again. I feel so alone," Riley begged her, having learned everything about her and how she had appeared to him before.  
  
"You know that I have to go. I can't stay down here. I'd age much faster than a normal human. I'd be dead before I'm 30," Sakura told him gently.  
  
"Then I'll kill myself to be with you in Heaven," Riley proclaimed loudly and rashly.  
  
"No!" Gina shouted. "No," her voice softened. "I can't let you do that. I can't let you do anything like that. You have your whole life in front of you. I won't let you ruin it just because of me," she told him tenderly.  
  
"Gina, I love you," Syaoran told her softly. Sakura felt her heart racing again. He sounded so sincere and genuine. She knew that they were about to kiss again, and she could hardly keep her eyes open or her face from blushing.  
  
Syaoran's amber eyes met her emerald ones, and she saw something in them that scared her. He did love her. Truly and deeply. She closed her eyes as he bent his head down and kept herself from gasping out loud as his lips broke down all the barriers that she been keeping kept from him.  
  
"Wow, they look so good together!" a sophomore whispered to her friend.  
  
"He looks like a really good kisser, doesn't he? Do you think he'd try on me?" her friend whispered back.  
  
Sighing in bliss and fantasies, they slowly floated back to the scene on stage. Sakura broke away from Syaoran, questioning him with her eyes.  
  
Do you truly love me?  
  
Do you doubt my judgment? he asked her, almost harshly.  
  
What?  
  
Get on with the play. We'll talk later.  
  
Sakura smiled benignly at him. "I'll see you in heaven," she said gently. She couldn't tell now if the tears streaming down Syaoran's face were real or fake. She was surprised how genuine they seemed.  
  
The audience was having trouble keeping their tears down too.  
  
"I don't want you to leave," Syaoran confessed to Gina.  
  
"I have to."  
  
Tomoyo smiled as she continued to tape the play. Sakura and Syaoran were so good together. She felt Eriol's hand on her shoulder, playing lightly with her hair, calmly flirting with her. He was resting for three scenes and had come down to join her.  
  
"It's so real. She's really going away and leaving him," a freshman sobbed into her boyfriend's shoulder. "Are you going to leave me?"  
  
Her boyfriend sighed. "No, Aya. I'm not going to leave you."  
  
"Farewell, Riley," Gina ended. Almost over.  
  
"We'll meet again?" Riley called out to her as she floated up, supported by the invisible Float card, which no one knew about, and was a special trick that she had just invented.  
  
Sakura waved from her position above him, until she disappeared from the view of the audience. Quickly, she crawled onto the catwalk, and then clambered down, trying to avoid her fear of heights. She could head the audience's applause thundering through the auditorium.  
  
"Sakura-chan!" Rika ran up to her. "Get over to the curtains! They're doing the finale now! Go!"  
  
Quickly, Sakura raced out, trying to be graceful in her white robes. Syaoran, where are you?  
  
Here, on the left side. Go on the right so we come out on different sides. Remember this? We practiced it this afternoon. Remember?  
  
Hai.Syaoran?  
  
Hai?  
  
Good job. Congratulations. You were awesome.  
  
Arigato, Sakura-chan. You were too.  
  
Arigato.  
  
Tomoyo eagerly tilted her camera to the stage, watching the cast coming out. "Leana, Kimoko, and Kari, played by Kiata Kylie, Tetsuya Kasumi, and Sasaki Rika!" Hiyoshi's voice boomed out over the mike. The audience eagerly applauded for them. The praise grew louder when Yamazaki, Kent, and Eriol came out. "Alixander, Marc, and Whitney! Acted out by Hiiragiwaza Eriol, Takaishi Yamazaki, and Huang Kentaro!"  
  
Naoko entered onto the stage, her head held high and regal. "Yanigasawa Naoko, acting as God!" The audience applauded loudly for her also. Yuri came out next, and the clapping was victorious, amid many hoots by the boys.  
  
"God, she was really pretty. Good thing that she's not with Riley. I guess that I get her now!" An overconfident senior commented to his friend.  
  
Meilin and Chiharu came out next, and the applause thundered again. "Li Meilin, playing as Janni, and Mihara Chiharu, acting as Shinhwa!" Finally, it was their turn.  
  
"And Li Syaoran with Kinomoto Sakura, playing as RILEY AND GINA!" Sakura looked across the stage, directly meeting Syaoran's eyes. He nodded slightly, and Sakura took a deep breath. She slowly walked out to the middle of the stage, where she met Syaoran. He held out his hand to her, and she took it, suddenly realizing how nervous she was. They walked out together, and bowed in front of the audience. The applause that greeted them roared throughout the auditorium and school, rendering several elderly people deaf momentarily. Flashes of light and blinking of video cameras met her eyes, and Sakura blinked quickly.  
  
Both her and Syaoran were exhausted after the strenuous performance, along with the extra trip to Gydoria with Kent and Leisa. It had seemed to be more than a few days, but in actuality must've been only a few seconds.  
  
Sakura looked out at the audience, watching amazed as they all began to stand up. She held on tightly to Syaoran's hand, while she gazed out at the crowd, spotting everyone that she knew. Finally, the play was over. After so many hours of practice. After reconciling with Kent and Leisa. After  
  
Otou-san, 'nii-chan, Yuki, Nakuru, Mizuki-sensei, all standing up and applauding for her. She smiled brightly suddenly, aware of everyone that loved her. Chancing to suddenly glance in Syaoran's direction, she noticed that he had on a smile, but his eyes were clouded.  
  
Syaoran.what's wrong?  
  
Nothing.  
  
Sakura knew that it wasn't the right time to push him, so she squeezed his hand gently to let him know that she was there for him. Syaoran had known that this was going to happen sooner or later. She had everything here. She wouldn't want to go back to Hong Kong with him just because he wanted her to. He could always spell her. Syaoran grimaced and then realized he was still on stage.  
  
Falsely, he smiled brightly and then backed up as the curtains came down before them. Everyone gave a huge cheer as they realized that it was finally over.  
  
"Excellent job!" came the praise from Terada-sensei.  
  
"I'm leaving. She's coming with me. Sakura, I'm sorry for all of the trouble that we caused you. The remaining cards are in Hiyoshi's hands now. It was a great pleasure to have met you, Sakura-chan. I'll never forget you." "I'll never forget you either, Kent."  
  
Sakura waited patiently after the play for Syaoran. Her father and brother had already congratulated her and praised her for her excellent work in the play. She was supposedly staying after for a party, but she really didn't want to. Sakura had been congratulated so many times already that her head was spinning. If someone said that word one more time, she was going to faint! But it was over! And she had been great!  
  
It was time to end it now. She had to talk to Syaoran. She had to find out how he really felt about her. She had to see whether she was wasting her time on him or not. She had to know.  
  
"Syaoran?" She knocked cautiously on his dressing room door. She knew that he was still inside. She could feel him in there. "Syaoran-kun? Can I come in?"  
  
"Hai." his voice sounded weird. Too low...too soft. Too...sad. Something was wrong.  
  
"Syaoran?" she opened the door and entered. He was sitting on the chair in front of the mirror, looking down. He didn't look up at her as she walked in next to him. He had changed from the clothes that he had worn in the play into his regular jeans and shirt.  
  
Meilin was there too. She patted Syaoran on his back once, and then smiled encouragingly at Sakura. She was gone in the next instant, leaving Syaoran alone with Sakura.  
  
"Syaoran? Are you all right?" Sakura asked him softly. He looked awful. Was he crying? How could he? This was one of the most exciting days of her life.  
  
Syaoran. Crying. Those two didn't match. He never cried. He was so strong, he was always the one that overcame, always the one who was brave and could withstand anything. What was wrong now?  
  
"Syaoran? Talk to me. Please," Sakura begged him, hesitating for a moment, and then she took a step forward. She bent down on her knees so that she could look up into his eyes.  
  
"Onegai, Syaoran-kun. If it's something that I did, I'm sorry."  
  
"No." Sakura jerked, hearing the pain in his voice. "It's nothing that you did. It's just me."  
  
"Well...tell me."  
  
Syaoran sighed. "I can't. I shouldn't. You don't want to become involved with this."  
  
"Syaoran! We've been together ever since we were in 4th grade. Do you not think that I know you well enough to see that something's really wrong? Why won't you tell me? Is it because I'm too childish for you? Can't you ever just trust me for once? The way that I've trusted you for these 8 long years? The way that I've loved you for these 8 years!" Sakura clamped a hand to her mouth, but it was too late.  
  
He had heard her. How could he not have? But Syaoran stayed still, and Sakura's heart sank. She knew it. He didn't care about her the way that she loved him. She backed away, and stood up. It was time to leave. It was over.  
  
"Sakura," his voice stopped her. She glanced back at him. He had risen up, and now towered above her. He hesitantly raised up his eyes to meet hers. "I...I just miss my family." Sakura's eyes softened. Now that Syaoran had started, he just poured everything out.  
  
"They're all back in Hong Kong. Tonight, with everyone else's parents here, congratulating them. No one was here, but Meilin. She's plenty, and I know that she loves me, but she's got Hiyoshi now too. I...just felt...so lonely. I didn't have anyone. I miss my family a lot. I've been questioning myself now." He paused to take a breath, and then took a step forward so that he was closer to Sakura. He kept his eyes focused on hers and started speaking again.  
  
"I wanted to know what made me stay back here in Japan instead of returning to Hong Kong. It was so obvious that I feel like I could slap myself now. I was so blind. I hadn't known what kept me back all this time until this year. Something kept me here, and subconsciously, I didn't want to leave. But now, I see. My eyes were blind,. but my heart knew all along what it was. Sakura..I stayed here in Japan for 8 years, only returning to Hong Kong a few times over the summers. Do you want to know the reason I stayed back?"  
  
Sakura couldn't speak, the emotion that coursed through her body left her breathless. She closed her eyes, to break eyes contact with Syaoran for a moment and to regain her wits. She felt Syaoran moving even closer to her. He took her hands and she reopened her eyes. She knew.  
  
"It was you, Sakura."  
  
Her heart stopped right there. He had taken it from her now. He had taken it and he held it in his hand. But she didn't want it back. No, he could keep it. She knew that he wouldn't break it. She had given it to him freely. She felt tears of joy begin to run down her cheeks. Syaoran smiled at her and smoothed them away.  
  
He had set her free. She was flying now. All the way up to the clouds. So she was bit out of place now, but that was OK. Syaoran was keeping her attached to the ground with his firm grasp on her. She smiled at him.  
  
"I love you, Sakura. It's taken me so long to finally realize what love means. But today...or yesterday. I don't know anymore. On the ride with Rashila to the other side. While you were asleep. I...just...I realized just how much you loved me. How much you've scarificed for me. And I've been so...unkind to you. I know that we...kissed at the cabin over winter. But...I...didn't feel like it was right. I didn't know what, but it was me. I wasn't real to you there. I was still holding back. I didn't know why. Maybe it was because I was scared. Scared to just be so close to you. But you know what, Sakura? I realized that I don't need to be scared. Because love overcomes that. And Sakura, I love you so much!"  
  
Sakura stared at him for a moment, her eyes fully penetrating into him. Fully exploring him, fully understanding him. A smile began to grow on her face. "Syaoran, I love you. I love you. I always will."  
  
Syaoran's mind sent words of such intimate love to her that she blushed. "Syaoran..."  
  
He didn't let her finish. He loved her, and he was going to make all those years of her suffering up to her. His mouth closed over hers, making her shiver with delight as his tongue entered her mouth, fusing them together.  
  
"Syaoran...walk?"  
  
He realized that they were still in the school. "Yes."  
  
Tomoyo met them outside. "I've been waiting out here forever!"  
  
Eriol was with her, and with one glance at Syaoran, he knew the entire story. He grinned evilly at them.  
  
"Hehehe."  
  
"Let's go celebrate!"  
  
"Congratulations, you two!" Meilin's voice pierced the sky behind them. A loud thud was heard. Syaoran glanced down and reacted barely quick enough to catch Sakura.  
  
She smiled weakly as she revived, a few seconds later. "Gomennasi, I've heard that too many times. Let's go out."  
  
"Hai!" a chorus of agreement met her ears.  
  
The entire group made their way down the street, each one reveling in their happiness.  
  
Sakura smiled at Syaoran. She was finally with the one that she loved and he loved her back. She was in heaven. Syaoran clasped her hand tightly within his. They would be together forever.  
  
I Love You!  
  
Yay! I'm done! Finally! I've been trying to finish off this for forever, but got major major major writer's block, so I started writing other originals, and got majorly sidetracked...but now I'm done...thanks to everyone who reviewed!  
  
Ja Ne Minna!  
  
~Asian Ruby 


End file.
